UC-NRLF 


B   M   SD3   fl7T 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

Class 


Fables  and   Folk-Tales 

from  an  Eastern  Forest. 


ILottlJon:   C.  J.  CLAY  and  SONS, 

CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS  WAREHOUSE, 
AVE  MARIA  LANE. 
50,   WELLINGTON  STREET. 


Itivjis:    F.   A.   BROCKHAUS. 
gotk:  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 
ISotnbas:    E.  SEYMOUR  HALE. 


[A/i  Rights  reserved."] 


N 


.-•    C 


1)     <u 


Fables  ^  Folk-Tales 

from  an   Eastern   Forest 


Collected  and  Translated  by 

Walter  Skeat,   M.A.,  M.R.A.S.,  F.A.I., 

Sometime  Scholar  of  Christ's  College,  Cambridge, 

late  of  the  Federated  Malay  States  Sei^vice, 

Author  of  "  Malay  Magic." 


Illustrated  by 
F.  H.  Townsend. 


Cambridge  : 

At  the  University  Press. 
1901 


PR'3£BVA-noN  GKsi? 

COP  '■  ADDED 

ORIGINAL  TO  BE  .Sf 

RETAINED 


OCT 


2  41994 


PRINTED    BY   J.    AND   C.    F.    CLAV, 
AT    THE   UNIVERSITY    PRESS. 


To 

my  Friend  and  Fellow-worker 

RICHARD   JAMES   WILKINSON. 


210014 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

I.  Father  Lime-stick  and  the  Flower-pecker    .         i 

II.  The  King  of  the  Tigers  is  sick  ...         3 

III.  The  Mouse-deer's  shipwreck         ...         5 

IV.  Who  killed  the  Otter's  Babies?    (A  'clock' 

story)    9 

V.  A  Vegetarian  Dispute  .  .  .  .  -13 
VI.        The   Friendship  of  Tupai  the  Squirrel    and 

Ruan  the  Creeping  Fish        .         .         .16 

VII.  The  Pelican's  Punishment    .         .         .         .18 

VIII.  The  Tiger  gets  his  deserts  ....       20 

IX.  The  Tiger's  mistake 22 

X.  The  Tune  that  makes  the  Tiger  drowsy     .  24 

XI.  The  "Tigers'  Fold" 26 

XII.  The  Tiger  and  the  Shadow  ...  28 

XIII.  Wit  wins  the  day 30 

XIV.  The  King-crow  and  the  Water-snail  .         .  33 

XV.  Father  '  Follow-my-nosc'  and  the  Four  Priests  36 

XVI.  The  Elephant-Princess  and  the  Prince  .  38 

XVII.  The  Elephant  has  a  bet  with  the  Tiger       .  41 
S.                                     vii                                      d 


Table  of  Contents 


XVIII.  Princess  Sadong  of  the  Caves 

XIX.  The  Saint  that  was  shot  out  of  his  own  Cannon 

XX.  The  Saints  whose  Grave-stones  moved 

XXI.  Nakhoda  Ragam  who  was  pricked  to  death 

by  his  wife's  needle 

XXII.  The  Legend  of  Patani 

XXIII.  A  Malayan  Deluge       . 

XXIV.  King  Solomon  and  the  Birds 
XXV.  The  Outwitting  of  the  Gedembai 

XXVI.  The  Silver  Prince,  and  Princess  Lemon-grass 


PAGE 

49 
5^ 
54 

57 
59 
6z 

64 

67 

71 


Notes 
Index 


73 
87 


VIU 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


I.  Rice-fields  at  the  foot  of  Bukit  Perak  or  Peralj 

(i.e.  Silver)  Mountain,  in  the  interior  of 
Kedah,  Malay  Peninsula       .         .     Frontispiece 

TO    FACE    PAGE 

II.  "But  presently  he  dragged  the  Shark  up  on 

to  the  dry  beach,  and  made  butcher's-meat 

of  him  ".......         6 

III.  "Presently  the  Otter  returned  home,"  ...  and 

"  saw  that  his  children  had  been  killed  "     .       lo 

IV.  "And  presently  he  looked  out  and  bit  through 

the  stalk  of  the  coconut  so  that  it  fell  into 

the  river  " 1 6 

V.  "On  reaching  the  trap,  he  requested  the  Tiger 

to  '  Step  inside '  "       .....       20 

VI.  "  Rimau  being  startled  leaped  backwards  and 

fell  into  the  river,  where  he  was  himself 
devoured  by  the  Crocodile  according  to 
his  compact" 2a 

VII.  "  On  hearing  this,  the  Tiger  sprang  into  the 

river  to  attack  his  own  shadow,  and  was 
drowned  immediately"      .         .         .         .28 


List  of  Illustrations 

TO    FACE    PAGE 

VIII.  ''The  Bull  of  the  Young  Bush  was  slain  by 
the  Bull  of  the  Clearing,  the  Mouse-deer 
sitting  upon  an  ant-hill  to  excite  them  to 
the  combat " 30 

IX.  "And  Friend  Elephant  writhed  and  wriggled 

and  made  believe  to  be  hurt,  and  made  a 
prodigious  noise  of  trumpeting"        .         .       46 

X.  Map  of  Malay  Peninsula       ...      86 


N.B.  The  Tail-pieces  represent  respectively  Small  Lizards, 
the  Tiger,  Mouse-deer,  Otter,  Tortoise,  Monitor  Lizard, 
Wild  Bull,  Monkey,  and  Elephant. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  Tales  contained  in  this  little  volume  were 
taken  down  from  the  lips  of  the  Malay 
peasantry,  in  the  twilight  of  their  own  tropical 
jungle,  during  the  progress  of  the  Cambridge  Ex- 
pedition of  1899  through  the  remoter  States  of  the 
Malay  Peninsula.  The  tales  themselves,  as  will  be 
obvious  to  the  reader,  are  the  merest  gleanings  from 
an  extensive  harvest-field,  and  make  no  pretensions 
whatever  to  any  completeness  or  finality.  For  the 
most  part,  indeed,  the  book  is  an  experiment,  the 
object  of  which  is  to  ascertain  to  what  extent  the 
native  "  Soother-of-care  "  (as  the  village  story-teller 
is  designated  by  his  Malayan  audience)  may  tell  his 
tale  in  words  of  his  own  choosing,  without  alienating 
the  interest  of  the  Western  reader. 

To  save  the  translation  from  becoming  too 
slavishly  literal  and  (consequently)  unreadable,  the 
natural  luxuriance  of  Oriental  phraseology  has  been 


Introduction 


kept  within  limits,  but  otherwise  the  originals  have 
been  closely  adhered  to,  and  the  fine  art  of  em- 
bellishment has  been  disregarded.  If  something  has 
been  lost  through  an  occasional  want  of  conformity 
with  Western  ideas,  it  is  hoped  that  much  will  also 
be  gained  in  point  and  quaintness  through  the  more 
faithful  preservation  of  the  original  expressions. 

The  hero  of  these  tales  is  a  small  chevrotain 
which  is  to  be  found  in  almost  every  part  of  the 
jungles  of  Malaya.  It  is  commonly  called  the 
Malayan  Mouse-deer  ;  but  in  spite  of  its  name  it 
belongs  rather  to  the  antelope  tribe,  the  heel-bone 
(os  calcis)  of  its  hinder  leg  projecting  in  a  fashion 
which  I  believe  is  never  seen  in  the  true  deer.  Its 
eye-teeth,  too,  are  curiously  long  and  projecting, 
and  its  hoofs  are  cloven  to  an  extent  which  in  so 
small  a  creature  is  really  remarkable.  At  the  same 
time  it  is  a  most  beautiful  little  animal,  with  big 
dark  pleading  eyes  and  all  the  grace  and  elegance  of 
a  gazelle.  It  is  a  favourite  character  in  Malayan 
folk-tales,  in  which  it  is  credited  with  such  inex- 
haustible powers  of  resource  and  mother-wit  that  it 
is  often  given  the  name  of  "Ment'ri  B'lukar,"  the 
"Vizier  of  the  Underwood"  (or  "Brush").  No 
difficulties   are   too  great   for  it  to   overcome ;    no 

xii 


Introduction 

perils  can  daunt  it ;  even  the  savage  lords  of 
Forest-glade  and  River-pool  suffer  contumelious 
defeat  when  '  Friend '  Mouse-deer  is  their  adversary. 
In  fact,  the  place  occupied  by  the  Mouse-deer  in 
Malayan  Folk-lore  is  exactly  analogous  to  the  place 
occupied  by  Reynard  the  Fox  in  the  folk-tales  of 
Europe,  and  by  Brer  Rabbit  in  the  immortal  cycle 
of  tales  which  take  their  name  from  'Uncle  Remus.' 

Here,  however,  it  is  perhaps  worth  noting  that 
although  the  Mouse-deer  as  a  master  of  '  slimness  ' 
is  given  the  preeminent  place  among  all  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  its  mantle  is  sometimes  temporarily 
permitted  to  fall  upon  the  shoulders  of  other  and 
quite  different  members  of  the  animal  creation. 
Hence  we  find  in  the  14th  story,  that  the  King- 
crow  is  worsted  by  a  Water-snail,  and  I  may  add 
that  in  a  Javanese  fable  of  the  same  type  (for 
which  compare  our  own  'Hare-and-Tortoise'  Fable) 
the  Mouse-deer  itself  plays  the  part  of  the  deceived, 
instead  of  that  of  the  deceiver. 

But  the  subject  of  the  mutual  relations  of  the 
Beasts  in  Malayan  Fable  is  one  which  has  yet  to 
be  worked  out,  and  which  lies  unfortunately  far 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  present  disquisition. 

The  other  animals  here  introduced  to  the  reader, 


Introduction 

for  the  most  part  resemble  their  Indian  relatives  and 
require  little  or  no  further  description  from  the 
writer,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  "  Wild 
Bull "  which  is  the  Bos  gaurus  or  "  Gaur "  of 
India  ;  rather  than  Bos  sondaicus  which  is  said  to 
have  been  once  or  twice  reported  from  the  same 
region. 

In  making  the  illustrations  which  appear  in  this 
book,  the  artist  has  taken  infinite  pains  for  which  I 
should  like  to  take  this  occasion  to  thank  him  ;  he 
has  certainly  made  the  best  of  such  somewhat  scanty 
material  as  was  available.  With  a  i^w  occasional 
exceptions,  no  serious  attempt  has  been  made  to 
analyse  the  stories  here  given,  or  to  trace  their 
sources  \  It  was  felt  that  to  do  so  would  be  only 
to  break  a  butterfly  upon  a  wheel ;  and  the  writer 
prefers  that  this  little  book  should  be  to  others  what 
it  is  to  him,  a  delightful  memorial  of  a  most  fasci- 
nating country  and  people. 

w.  s. 

^  In  addition  however  to  a  few  references  given  in  the  notes, 
I  may  perhaps  mention,  for  the  benefit  of  local  readers,  the 
Malay  versions  of  the  "  Hikayat  P'landok  Jinaka  "  ed.  H.  C. 
Klinkert  (Leyden,  1885),  and  the  "  Sha'ir  P'landok"  (both  of 
which  are  lithographed). 


xiv 


FABLES  AND  FOLK  TALES. 

FATHER    'LIME-STICK'    AND    THE 
FLOWER-PECKER. 

/'"^LD  Father  Lime-stick  once  limed  a  tree  for 
^^-^  birds  and  caught  a  Flower-pecker  (a  small 
bird  about  as  big  as  one's  thumb).  He  was  just  about 
to  kill  and  eat  it  when  the  bird  cried  out,  "  O  Grand- 
father, surely  you  are  not  going  to  eat  me  ?  Why, 
flesh,  feathers  and  all,  I  am  no  bigger  than  your 
thumb!"  "What?"  said  the  old  man,  "do  you 
expect  me  then  to  let  you  go  ?  "  "  Yes,"  said  the 
bird,  "  only  let  me  go,  and  I  will  fetch  you  such  a 
talisman  as  never  was — a  Bezoar-stone  as  big  as  a 
coconut  and  worth  at  least  a  thousand."  Said  the 
old  man,  "  Do  you  really  mean  it  ?  "  "  Really,  I 
do,"  replied  the  bird.  "  Just  let  me  go,  and  I'll 
bring   it   to   you."     Then   (on   being   released)   he 

S.  I  I 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

flew  ofF  and  perched  on  a  tree,  and  began  to  preen 
his  feathers,  to  get  rid  of  the  bird-lime.  And 
presently  the  old  man  said,  "  Where  has  that  bird 
got  to  ?  Bird,  where  is  the  Bezoar-stone  you 
promised  to  bring  me,  the  one  that  was  worth  at 
least  a  thousand  ?  "  "Out-on-you,"  was  the  reply, 
"  this  is  really  too  ridiculous.  Just  think  of  me, 
with  my  body  as  big  as  your  thumb,  carrying 
a  Bezoar-stone  as  big  as  a  coconut  !  It  really  is 
too  absurd.  Why,  have  I  even  got  the  strength  to 
lift  it  ?  "  At  this  the  old  man  held  his  peace. 
"  Well,"  continued  the  bird,  "  you  will  gain 
nothing  by  repenting  that  you  set  me  free. 
Only  remember  in  future  not  to  undertake  an 
affair  quite  out  of  keeping  with  your  own  powers. 
Neither  try  to  get  your  arms  round  a  tree  too  big 
for  your  embrace,  nor  attempt  to  climb  one  higher 
than  your  strength  permits  you." 


*^ 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


THE   KING  OF  THE  TIGERS   IS   SICK. 

WHEN  the  Great  King  of  All  the  Tigers 
was  sick,  the  Tiger-Crown-Prince  made 
obeisance  and  said,  "  If  my  Lord  will  taste  of  the 
flesh  of  every  beast  of  the  field  peradventure  my 
Lord  may  recover."  So  the  Great  King  commanded 
the  Crown-Prince  to  summon  every  kind  of  beast 
into  his  presence,  and  as  they  appeared  the  King 
ate  of  them.  Only  the  Mouse-deer,  who  was  like- 
wise summoned,  refused  to  appear. 

Therefore  the  great  King's  wrath  was  kindled 
against  the  Mouse-deer  and  in  the  end  he  too  was 
fain  to  appear.  And  when  he  appeared  he  was 
questioned  by  the  King.  "Why  did  you  not  attend 
at  the  first  when  we  had  summoned  hither  every 
kind  of  beast  that  lives  in  the  field?"  The  Mouse- 
deer  replied,  "  Your  slave  could  not  approach  your 
Majesty  because   of  a  dream   of  certain    medicine 

3 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

that  would  make  your  Majesty  well."  The  King 
replied,  "What  medicine  was  this  of  which  you 
dreamed?"  "Your  slave  dreamed  that  the  only 
remedy  for  your  Majesty's  sickness  was  for  your 
Majesty  to  seize  and  devour  That  which  is 
Nearest  your  Majesty.'''' 

Immediately  on  hearing  this  the  Great  King  of 
the  Tigers  seized  the  Prince  of  the  Tigers  and 
devoured  him  also.  And  straightway  the  King 
was  cured,  and  the  Mouse-deer  himself  became 
Crown-Prince  in  turn. 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


THE  MOUSE-DEER'S   SHIPWRECK. 

"  /^~^OME,"  said  the  Mouse-deer  to  the  Stump- 
^-^  tailed  Heron,  "come  and  sail  with  me  to 
Java."  So  they  set  sail,  and  Friend  Mouse-deer 
held  the  tiller  and  Friend  Heron  spread  the  sail. 
And  the  wind  blew  from  the  North.  Soon  however 
Friend  Mouse-deer  got  drowsy,  and  let  the  boat  fall 
out  of  the  wind. 

At  this  Friend  Heron  said,  "Why  does  the  boat 
fall  off?  How  is  your  helm,  Friend  Mouse-deer? " 
'*  I  was  only  taking  a  few  winks,"  said  he.  "Bring, 
her  up  to  the  wind  again,"  said  the  Heron.  And 
the  Mouse-deer  replied,  "All  right.  I'm  'on  the 
spot,' "  (said  he).  Presently  however  he  dozed 
again,  and  the  Heron  exclaimed,  "  Oh,  if  that's  to 
be  it,  you  may  die  and  be  done  with.  I'll  peck 
a  hole  in  this  boat  of  ours  and  you'll  go  to  the 
bottom." 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

But  the  Mouse-deer  said,  "  Please  don't,  I'm 
such  a  bad  hand  at  swimming."  So  they  sailed 
on.  And  the  Mouse-deer  dozed  a  third  time. 
At  this  the  Heron  could  contain  himself  no 
longer,  and  said,  "  Confound  you,  Friend  Mouse- 
deer,  for  sleeping  at  the  helm."  And  losing  his 
temper  he  pecked  a  hole  in  the  boat,  and  the  boat 
let  in  the  water  and  Friend  Heron  flew  away.  But 
the  Mouse-deer  swam  struggling  with  his  feet  in 
the  midst  of  the  sea. 

Presently  there  came  up  a  young  Shark  who 
exclaimed,  ''  I'll  have  a  meal  ofF  you  this  time 
at  all  events."  But  the  Mouse-deer  answered, 
"What,  Friend  Shark,  you'll  make  a  meal  off  me  ? 
why,  in  place  of  the  little  flesh  I've  got,  if  you'll 
carry  me  ashore,  I'll  teach  you  some  excellent 
Magic  which  will  save  you  from  ever  having  to 
hunt  for  your  food  again."  To  this  the  Shark 
repHed,  "  Agreed.  If  you'll  teach  me  your  '  excellent 
Magic '  I'll  carry  you  ashore."  So  the  Mouse-deer 
got  upon  Friend  Shark's  back,  and  was  carried 
straight  ashore. 

And  on  their  arrival  the  Mouse-deer  said, 
"Wait  here  a  bit,  while  I  go  and  get  the  simples." 
6 


II.     "  But  presently  he  dragged  the  Shark  up  on  to  the  dry  beach, 
and  made  butcher's-meat  of  him." 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


And  going  aland  he  hunted  up  a  rattan  (cane) 
creeper  and  took  it  back  with  him  and  said,  "  Now 
I'll  give  you  the  simples  I  spoke  of,"  and  bound 
it  fast  to  Friend  Shark's  tail.  And  presently 
the  Shark  said,  "  Why  have  you  made  the  line 
fast  to  my  tail  ?  "  But  the  Mouse-deer  replied, 
"  Keep  quite  quiet  till  I  have  tied  you  up  properly, 
and  then  I'll  give  you  the  simples."  But  presently 
he  dragged  the  Shark  up  on  to  the  dry  beach,  and 
made  butcher 's-meat  of  him.  Just  then  however  a 
Tiger  came  up,  exclaiming,  "  Here's  really  a  good 
meal  for  Me,  for  once  in  a  way!"  To  this,  however, 
the  Mouse-deer  replied,  "  What  is  the  use  of  eating 
me^  when  there's  already  plenty  of  butcher's-meat 
and  to  spare  ? "  "  Very  well,  I'll  share  it  with 
you,"  said  the  Tiger.  The  Mouse-deer  replied, 
"You  may  share  it  with  me  by  all  means,  if  you  will 
only  go  and  get  some  water  to  do  the  cooking."  So 
the  Tiger  went  off  to  get  water  and  presently  came 
back  with  it. 

"Wash  the  meat  before  you  roast  it,"  said 
the  Mouse-deer.  The  Tiger  took  the  meat  and 
washed  it  in  the  water.  "Go  and  fetch  fire  and 
roast  it,"  said  the  Mouse-deer.     The  Tiger  fetched 

7 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

fire  and  came  back  to  do  the  cooking.  And 
when  the  meat  was  done,  "  Now  go  and  fetch 
some  drinking  water,"  said  the  Mouse-deer,  "and 
we'll  have  our  meal  together."  So  the  Tiger  went 
ofF  again  to  fetch  the  drinking  water.  But  the 
Mouse-deer  in  the  meantime  made  off  with  the 
Shark's  meat  and  climbed  up  with  it  to  the  top  of 
a  She-oak  Tree.  And  presently  the  Tiger  came 
back  and  found  both  Mouse-deer  and  meat  missing. 
At  this  he  exclaimed,  "For  once  in  a  way,  Mr 
Mouse-deer,  you've  fairly  cheated  Me ;  if  we  don't 
meet  again  no  matter,  but  if  we  do,  I'll  be  the 
death  of  you."     And  here  the  story  ends. 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


WHO    KILLED   THE   OTTER'S    BABIES? 
(A    'CLOCK'   STORY.) 

'nnHE  Otter  said  to  the  Mouse-deer,  "  Friend 
-*-  Mouse-deer,  will  you  be  so  good  as  to  take 
charge  of  the  children  till  I  come  back  ?  I  am  going 
down  to  the  river  to  catch  fish,  and  when  I  come 
back  I'll  share  the  takings  with  you.  The  Mouse- 
deer  replied,  "Very  well!  go  along,  and  I'll  look 
after  the  children."  So  the  Otter  went  down  to 
the  river  to  catch  fish. 

(Here  the  story  of  What  the  Otter  did  stops  and 
the  story  of  What  happened  when  the  Woodpecker 
sounded  the  war-gong  commences.)  The  Mouse- 
deer  was  Chief  Dancer  of  the  War-dance,  and  as  he 
danced,  he  trod  on  the  Otter's  Babies  and  crushed 
them  flat.  Presently  the  Otter  returned  home,  bring- 
ing a  string  of  fish  with  him.  On  arriving  he  saw 
that  his  children  had  been  killed,  and  exclaimed, 
"How  comes  it,  Friend  Mouse-deer,  that  my  Babies 

S.  9  2 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

have  died?"  The  Mouse-deer  replied,  "The  Wood- 
pecker came  and  sounded  the  war-gong,  and  I,  being 
Chief  War-Dancer,  danced  ;  and  forgetting  about 
your  children  I  trod  upon  them  and  crushed  them 
flat." 

On  hearing  this  the  Otter  went  and  made  com- 
plaint unto  King  Solomon,  prostrating  himself  and 
saying,  "  Your  Majesty's  most  humble  slave  craves 
pardon  for  presuming  to  address  your  Majesty,  but 
Friend  Mouse-deer  has  murdered  your  slave's 
children,  and  your  slave  desires  to  learn  whether 
he  is  guilty  or  not  according  to  the  Law  of  the 
Land."  King  Solomon  replied,  saying,  "If  the 
Mouse-deer  hath  done  this  thing  wittingly,  assuredly 
he  is  guilty  of  death."  Then  he  summoned  the 
Mouse-deer  before  him. 

And  when  the  Mouse-deer  came  into  the 
presence  of  the  King,  the  King  enquired  of  the 
Otter,  "What  is  your  charge  against  him?"  The 
Otter  replied,  "Your  slave  accuses  him  of  the  mur- 
der of  your  slave's  children ;  your  slave  would  hear 
the  Law  of  the  Land."  Then  the  King  said  unto 
the  Mouse-deer,  "Was  it  your  doing  that  the  Otter's 
children  were  killed  ?  "     The  Mouse-deer  replied. 


III.     "Presently  the  Otter  returned  home,"  .  .  .  and  "saw  that  his  children 
had  been  killed." 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

"Assuredly  it  was,  but  I  crave  pardon  for  doing  so." 
"  How  was  it  then,"  said  the  King,  "that  you  came 
to  kill  them  ?  "  The  Mouse-deer  replied,  "  Your 
slave  came  to  kill  them  because  the  Woodpecker 
appeared  and  sounded  the  war-gong.      Your  slave, 

^        as     your    Majesty     is     aware,    is     Chief    Dancer 
ijN         of  the    War-dance,   therefore    your    slave    danced, 
r  and    forgetting   about   the    Otter's    children,    your 

slave  trod  upon  them  and  crushed  them  flat." 
Here  the  King  sent  for  the  Woodpecker  also, 
and  the  Woodpecker  came  before  him.  "Was  it 
you,  Woodpecker,"  said  the  King,  "who  sounded 
the  war-gong  ? "  "  Assuredly  it  was,"  said  the 
Woodpecker, — "  forasmuch  as  your  slave  saw  the 
Great  Lizard  wearing  his  sword."  The  King 
replied,  "  If  that  is  the  case,  there  is  no  fault 
to  be  found   in  the  Woodpecker  "  (for  the  Wood- 

—  pecker  was  Chief  Beater  of  the  War-gong). 
Then  the  King  commanded  the  Great  Lizard  to 
be  summoned,  and  when  he  arrived,  the  King 
enquired,  "  Was  it  you.  Lizard,  who  were  wearing 
your  sword?"  The  Great  Lizard  replied,  "Assuredly 
it  was,  your  Majesty."  "  And  why  were  you  wear- 
ing your  sword  ?  "  The  Great  Lizard  replied, 
II 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

"  Your  slave  wore  it  forasmuch  as  your  slave  saw 
that  the  Tortoise  had  donned  his  coat  of  mail." 
So  the  Tortoise  was  summoned  likewise.  "Why 
did  you,  Tortoise,  don  your  coat  of  mail  ?  "  The 
Tortoise  replied,  "  Your  slave  donned  it  forasmuch 
as  your  slave  saw  the  King-crab  trailing  his  three- 
edged  pike."  Then  the  King-crab  was  sent  for. 
"  Why  were  you.  King-crab,  trailing  your  three- 
edged  pike?"  "Because  your  slave  saw  that  the 
Crayfish  had  shouldered  his  lance."  Then  the 
King  sent  for  the  Crayfish  and  said,  "  Was  it 
you.  Crayfish,  who  were  shouldering  your  lance?" 
And  the  Crayfish  replied,  "Assuredly  it  was,  your 
Majesty."  "And  why  did  you  shoulder  it?" 
"Because  your  slave  saw  the  Otter  coming  down 
to  devour  your  slave's  own  children."  "  Oh," 
said  King  Solomon,  "if  that  is  the  case,  you. 
Otter,  are  the  guilty  party  and  your  complaint  of 
your  children's  death  cannot  be  sustained  against 
the  Mouse-deer  by  the  Law  of  the  Land." 


12 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


A    VEGETARIAN   DISPUTE. 


^ 


/^^NCE  upon  a  time  J%ong  the  Maize-plant 
^-^  made  boast,  and  said,  "  If  Rice  should  cease 
to  exist,  I  alone  should  suffice  to  sustain  Man- 
kind." But  Dagun  the  Liane  and  Gadong  the 
Jungle  Yam  each  made  a  like  boast,  and  as  the  - 
parties  could  not  agree,  the  case  was  brought  before 
King  Solomon.  Said  Solomon,  "  All  three  of  you 
are  perfectly  right,  albeit  it  were  perhaps  better 
that  Jagong  should  sustain  Mankind  because  of  his 
comrade-ship  with  Kachang  the  Bean."  Thereat 
the  wrath  of  Dagun  the  Liane  and  Gadong  the 
Yam  waxed  hot  against  Jagong,  and  they  went  off 
together  to  hunt  for  a  fruit-spike  of  the  Jungle 
Fig-tree,  whereon  to  impale  him,  but  found  none. 
And  meanwhile  Jigong  hearing  news  of  their  quest,  ^ 
set  to  work  to  find  Arrow-poison.    And  when  he  had 

13 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

found  it  he  poisoned  Gadong  therewith  (wherefore 
to  this  day  the  Jungle  Yam  has  narcotic  properties). 
Then  Gadong  the  Yam  being  wroth  thereat  speared 
Jdgong  in  turn  (wherefore  to  this  day  the  cobs  of 
j^  Maize  are  perforated).  And  J%ong  reaching  out 
in  turn  seized  the  pointed  shoot  of  a  'Wilang'  stem 
and  wounded  Dagun  therewith. 

At  this  juncture  the  parties  to  the  quarrel  went 
before  the  Prophet  Elias,  who  said,  "This  matter 
is  too  great  for  me,  take  ye  it  before  Solomon." 
And  Solomon  said,  "  Let  them  fight  it  out  between 
them,  that  the  rage  of  their  hearts  may  be  appeased." 
Wherefore  there  was  battle  between  them  for  twice 
seven  days.  Now  Mata  L6mbu  the  '  Ox-eye ' 
Tree  stood  nigh  to  watch  the  battle,  and  its  skin 
was  grazed  by  bullets  (whereof  its  bark  still  shows 
the  scars).  But  the  '  Perachak '  Shrub  on  the 
other  hand  was  filled  with  fear,  and  instead  of 
drawing  nearer,  in  order  to  see  the  battle,  it  stood 
upon  tiptoe  (wherefore  it  still  grows  long  and  lanky). 
But  'Andram'  the  sedge  was  the  most  afraid  and 
ran  to  a  place  afar  ofi\,  but  as  it  still  heard  the  noise 
of  battle  it  plunged  into  the  river  (wherefore  to 
this  day  it  grows  over  the  surface  of  water).  \ 

14 


/ 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

And  when  the  twice  seven  days  were  ended, 
the  battle  being  still  undecided,  the  combatants 
were  parted,  and  a  space  was  set  between  them  by 
Solomon.  And  Gadong  the  Yam  made  he  to  sit 
down,  and  Dagun  the  Liane  to  lie  down.  But 
Jagong  the  Maize-plant  and  Kdchang  the  Bean  he 
made  to  stand  together. 


>^ 


IS 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


THE   FRIENDSHIP   OF  THE   SQUIRREL   AND 
THE   CREEPING   FISH. 


FROM  the  beginning  Tupai  the  Squirrel  and 
Ruan  the  Creeping  Fish  were  ever  close  and 
faithful  friends.  And  one  day  Tupai's  wife  fell  sick 
and  Tupai  enquired  of  the  Medicine-man  what 
medicine  he  should  give  her,  and  the  Medicine-man 
prescribed  the  egg  of  a  fowl.  But  Tupai  could  not 
by  any  means  obtain  it.  Therefore  he  told  Ruan 
the  Fish  of  his  trouble,  and  Riian  promised  to  help 
him,  if  he  had  to  die  for  it.  Next  morning 
therefore  Ruan  swam  into  a  bamboo  water-tube 
which  a  woman  was  filling  in  the  river  and  was 
carried  back  inside  it  to  the  house,  where  it  was  left 
leaning  against  the  house-wall  close  to  the  roosting- 
place  of  the  fowls.  And  at  evening  Ruan  crept 
out  of  the  tube  and  taking  into  his  mouth  an  egg 
out  of  a  hen's  nest  carried  it  back  with  him  into  the 
tube  again.  Next  morning  the  woman  once  more 
took  the  water-tube  down  to  the  river  to  fill  it. 
i6 


AJL 


IV.     "And  presently  he  looked  out  and  bit  through  the  stalk  of  the  coconut 
so  that  it  fell  into  the  river." 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

Then  Ruan  swam  out  of  the  tube  into  the  river 
again  and  brought  the  egg  rejoicing  to  his  friend 
Tupai.  And  the  Squirrel's  wife  on  receiving  the 
egg  immediately    recovered. 

Another  day  Ruan's  wife  fell  ill  and  the 
Medicine-man  prescribed  the  heart  of  a  crocodile, 
but  Ruan  likewise  had  no  means  of  obtaining  it. 
Therefore  Tupai  the  Squirrel  bit  a  hole  in  a 
coconut  growing  on  a  palm  which  overhung  the 
river  and  crept  inside  it.  And  presently  he  looked 
out  and  bit  through  the  stalk  of  the  coconut  so 
that  it  fell  into  the  river  and  was  swallowed  by  a 
crocodile,  Tupai  himself  lying  coiled  inside  it. 
And  presently  he  crept  out  of  the  coconut  into 
the  crocodile's  stomach,  and  bit  out  its  heart.  And 
the  crocodile  struggled  greatly  till  it  came  to  the 
shore  and  died  there.  Then  the  Squirrel  crept 
out  of  the  crocodile's  jaws  and  gave  the  heart  to 
Ruan  the  Fish.  And  Ruan's  wife  recovered  im- 
mediately also. 


^ 


17 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


THE   PELICAN'S   PUNISHMENT. 

T  TNDAN  the  Pelican  being  hungry  told  Ruan 
^^  the  Fish  that  his  pool  would  shortly  dry  up, 
and  offered  to  carry  himself  or  any  members  of 
his  family  to  another  pool  to  see  how  they 
liked   it. 

To  this  Ruan  agreed;  and  Undan  carried  him 
over  to  the  pool  and  back  again  as  stipulated,  and 
the  fish  liking  it  informed  all  his  relatives. 

Then  Undan  carried  the  fish  back  again  to  the 
new  pool  and  returned  to  fetch  the  rest  of  his 
family.  But  instead  of  putting  them  into  the 
pool,  Undan  sat  in  a  tree  and  ate  the  fish  till  his 
droppings  reached  to  the  lower  branches. 

By  this  time  there  were  no  more  fish  to  be 
i8 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

eaten  and  Undan  commenced  in  like  manner  to 
cheat  the  family  of  Ketam  the  Crab.  But  as  soon 
as  ever  Ketam  caught  sight  of  the  droppings  he 
saw  through  the  trick  and  pinched  Undan 's  neck 
so  that  he  died. 


*^ 


!9 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


^THE  TIGER   GETS    HIS   DESERTS. 

A  TIGER  which  had  been  caught  in  a  trap 
seeing  a  man,  begged  to  be  released.  The 
man  said  to  the  Tiger,  "If  I  let  you  out  of  the  trap 
will  you  promise  not  to  attack  me?"  "Certainly," 
said  the  Tiger,  and  the  man  therefore  let  the  Tiger 
go,  but  the  moment  the  Tiger  was  loose  it  sprang 
upon  the  man  and  caught  him.  At  this  the  man 
begged  the  Tiger  to  wait  until  he  had  enquired 
how  the  law  stood  with  reference  to  their  contract, 
and  the  Tiger  agreed  to  do  so.  The  man  and  the 
Tiger  therefore  set  out  together;  and  on  coming  to  a 
Road  the  man  said,  "  O  Road,  Road,  is  it  lawful  to 
requite  evil  for  good,  or  good  for  good  only  ^  "  The 
Road  replied,  "I  do  good  to  mankind,  but  they 
requite  me  with  evil,  defiling  (my  surface)  as  they 
go."  Then  they  came  to  a  Tree,  of  which  the 
man  asked  the  same  question.  The  Tree  replied, 
20 


V.     "On  reaching  the  trap,   he  requested  the   Tiger  to  'Step  inside'." 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

*'I  do  good  to  mankind,  but  they  requite  me  with 
evil,  lopping  off  my  branches  and  cutting  me  down." 
At  the  last  they  came  to  the  Mouse-deer  and  the 
man  made  the  same  enquiry  as  before.  The 
Mouse-deer  replied,  "I  must  really  go  into  the 
question  thoroughly  before  I  answer  it;  let  us  go 
back  together  to  the  trap."  On  reaching  the  trap, 
he  requested  the  Tiger  to  "Step  inside,"  and  the 
Tiger  entering  the  trap,  the  Mouse-deer  let  down 
the  door  of  the  trap,  and  exclaimed,  "Accursed 
Brute,  you  have  returned  evil  for  good  and  now  you 
shall  die  for  it."  He  then  called  in  the  neis^hbours 
and  had  the  Tiger  killed. 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


.^ 


THE  TIGER'S   MISTAKE. 


A  MAN  was  taking  his  little  boy  home  through 
■*-  ^  the  jungle  near  the  headwaters  of  the  Lebih 
River  in  the  interior  of  Kelantan,  when  they  were 
overtaken  by  night.  The  boy  was  frightened  and 
said  to  his  father,  "Father,  I  am  so  frightened,  let 
me  sleep  in  the  middle."  The  father  replied,  "How 
can  you  sleep  in  the  middle  seeing  there  are  but  two 
of  us?"  Nevertheless  the  boy  replied,  "Father,  I 
fnust  sleep  in  the  middle  " ;  and  the  father  to  pacify 
him  took  the  boy's  head  in  his  lap,  and  they  went 
to  sleep  together  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  Now 
Rimau  the  Tiger  came  that  way  and  beheld  a  man 
with  four  arms  and  four  legs  and  only  a  single  head. 
Rimau  was  astonished  at  this,  and  went  to  Buaya 
the  Old  Crocodile  in  the  bight  and  said,  "Friend 
Budya,  there  is  a  human  being  asleep  on  the  bank 
who  has  four  arms  and  four  legs  and  only  a  single 

22 


y»^kg;  -^.iwrnY'ryvrv...^-- 


VI.     "  Rimau  being  startled  leaped  backwards  and  fell   into  the  river,  where  he 
was  himself  devoured  by  the  Crocodile  according  to  his  compact." 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

head."  At  this  old  BuAya  laughed  consumedly  and 
said,  "What  nonsense  is  this  ?  Go  and  snuff  round 
about  the  body  and  you  will  soon  find  it  has  two 
heads  rather  than  one.  Whatever  you  seize  shall 
be  your  portion,  but  whatever  plunges  into  the 
river  (to  escape)  shall  be  mine." 

So  Rimau  went  back  to  snuff  round  the  body, 
and  as  he  was  snuffing  his  whiskers  tickled  the 
man's  nostrils  and  the  man  sneezed  very  violently. 
And  at  this  Rimau  being  startled  leaped  backwards 
and  fell  into  the  river,  where  he  was  himself  devoured 
by  the  Crocodile  according  to  his  compact. 


23 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


t 


THE  TUNE  THAT  MAKES   THE 
TIGER   DROWSY. 


THERE  is  a  tune  which  when  played  upon  the 
"Kerotong"  (a  two-stringed  bamboo  harp) 
makes  Rimau  the  Tiger  drowsy,  but  only  a  few 
old  people  know  it.  One  evening  two  men  were 
sitting  together  and  playing  in  a  hut  in  the  jungle 
when  two  tigers  overheard  them. 

The  tigers  took  counsel  together,  and  one  of 
them  said  to  the  other,  "You  shall  be  the  first  to 
go  into  the  house  ;  Whatever  you  seize  shall  there- 
fore be  your  portion,  but  Whatever  plunges  down 
the  steps  (to  escape)  shall  be  mine."  At  this  the 
second  tiger  ascended  the  house-ladder  and  was  just 
crouching  upon  the  topmost  rung  when  one  of  the 
men  to  amuse  himself  commenced  to  play  the 
24 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

Tune  that  makes  the  Tiger  Drowsy.  As  soon 
as  the  Tiger  heard  it  he  began  to  grow  sleepy, 
and  presently  fell  plump  down  the  steps  to  the 
ground,  where  he  was  seized  by  his  companion. 
And  when  he  objected,  his  companion  exclaimed, 
"Did  we  not  agree  that  Whatever  plunged  down 
the  steps  was  to  be  my  portion?"  and  proceeded 
to  devour  him  at  his  leisure. 


^^^ffp 


25 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


THE   "TIGERS'   FOLD." 

'npHERE  is  a  place  called  Ulu  Setiu'  in  the 
-*-  country  of  Trengganu,  where  the  Tigers  are 
penned  in  a  fold  called  "Kandang  Balok."  Within 
this  Fold  there  are  two  lakes  or  ponds.  By  swim- 
ming through  one  of  these  ponds  (on  setting  out 
for  a  journey)  the  Tigers  turn  themselves  into  men, 
and  by  swimming  through  the  other  (on  their 
return)  they  change  themselves  back  into  Tigers  ^ 
For  within  the  Fold  itself  the  Tigers  always  retain 
the  shape  of  beasts,  with  the  exception  of  the  Tiger- 
chief  who  always  appears  in  the  form  of  a  man.  It 
is  this  Chief  whom  men  call  by  the  name  of  The 
'  Tiger  Devil '  or  '  Tiger  Demon  ^'  and  who  enters 

^  According  to  some  accounts  of  the  Malays  the  Tigers  have 
a  regular  form  of  Government  and  a  town  of  their  own,  the 
houses  of  which  have  their  framework  made  of  human  bones 
and  are  thatched  with  women's  hair. 

^  "Pong  Mor"  or  Hantu  Belian. 

26 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

into  the  bodies  of  sorcerers  when  they  invoice 
the  Tiger  Spirit.  A  sorcerer  in  a  trance  was  once 
in  former  days  seized  by  this  Tiger-chief,  who  slung 
him  across  his  shoulder  and  carried  him  off  to  the 
Tigers'  Fold,  On  reaching  the  Fold,  however,  the 
Tiger-chief  kept  the  sorcerer  for  safety  in  his  own 
house,  which  was  built  upon  four  posts  of  extra- 
ordinary height.  From  this  position  the  sorcerer 
beheld  the  baffled  herd  of  hungry  tigers  who  prowled 
around  the  posts  of  the  house  when  they  smelt  the 
smell  of  a  man,  although  they  did  not  dare  to  attack 
it  for  fear  of  their  Chief.  For  seven  days  and  seven 
nights  the  sorcerer  was  thus  imprisoned,  but  he  then 
succeeded  in  making  his  escape,  and  on  returning  to 
his  family  he  related  all  that  he  had  seen  and  heard 
in  the  Fold  of  the  Tigers. 


27 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


^'THE  TIGER   AND   THE   SHADOW. 

THERE  was  a  "salt-lick"  in  the  jungle  to 
which  all  the  beasts  of  the  forest  resorted,  but 
they  were  greatly  afraid  by  reason  of  an  old  Tiger 
which  killed  one  of  them  every  day.  At  length, 
therefore,  P'lando'  the  Mouse-deer  said  to  the  Tiger, 
"Why  not  permit  me  to  bring  you  a  beast  every  day, 
to  save  you  from  hunting  for  your  food  ? "  The 
Tiger  consented  and  P'lando'  went  off  to  make 
arrangement  with  the  beasts.  But  he  could  not 
persuade  any  of  them  to  go,  and  after  three  days 
he  set  off,  taking  nobody  with  him  but  Kuwis  the 
smallest  of  the  Flying  Squirrels.  On  their  arrival 
P'lando'  said  to  the  Tiger,  "  I  could  not  bring  you 
any  of  the  other  beasts  because  the  way  was  blocked 
by  a  fat  old  Tiger  with  a  Flying  Squirrel  sitting 
astride  its  muzzle."  On  hearing  this  the  Tiger 
exclaimed,  "Let  us  go  and  find  it  and  drive  it 
28 


•  '^'W 


Vis^ 


VII.     "On  hearing  this,  the  Tiger  sprang  into  the  river  to  attack  his  own  shadow, 
and  was  drowned  immediately." 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

away."  The  three  therefore  set  out,  the  Flying 
Squirrel  perched  upon  the  Tiger's  muzzle  and  the 
Mouse-deer  sitting  astride  upon  its  hind  quarters. 
On  reaching  the  river,  the  Mouse-deer  pointed  to 
the  Tiger's  likeness  in  the  water  and  exclaimed, 
"Look  there!  That  is  the  fat  old  Tiger  that  I 
saw."  On  hearing  this,  the  Tiger  sprang  into  the 
river  to  attack  his  own  shadow,  and  was  drowned 
immediately. 


29 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


P 


WIT    WINS   THE   DAY. 

I'LANDO'  the  Mouse-deer  went  to  look  for 
the  Wild  Bull  of  the  Clearing^  and  said  to 
him,    "The    Bull    of    the    Young    Bush    is    ex- 
ceedingly  wroth    against    you,   and   is   using    most 
"^       foul    and    opprobrious   language."     Then   he   went 
to  the  Wild  Bull  of  the  Young  Bush%  and  said  to 
him  likewise,  "The  Bull  of  the  Clearing  is  saying 
all  manner  of  insulting  things  about  you."     (For 
he  wanted  to  set  them  on  to  fight  together.) 
Next  day  they  each  set  out  and  met  upon  the 
}.:  boundary  between  the  Cleared  Land  and  the  Young 

15/*  Bush.     And  when  they  charged  down  upon  each 

i\V\  other,  the  Bull  of  the  Young  Bush  was  slain   by 

the   Bull   of  the   Clearing,  the  Mouse-deer  sitting 
upon  an  ant-hill  to  excite  them  to  the  combat. 

^  Seladang  Chdrang. 
^  Seladang  B'lukar. 

30 


VIII.     "The  Bull  of  the  Young   Bush  was  slain  by  the   Bull  of  the   Clearing,  the 
Mouse-deer  sitting  upon  an   ant-hill  to  excite  them  to  the  combat." 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

But  during  the  battle  the  white  ants  extended 
their  burrows  into  the  Mouse-deer's  back  as  he  sat 
on  the  ant-hill,  so  that  he  could  not  get  up  again. 
Therefore  he  said  to  the  survivor,  "If  you  have 
the  strength.  Friend  Bull,  do  me  the  favour  to 
scatter  this  ant-hill."  At  this  the  Bull  of  the 
Clearing  scattered  the  ant-hill  with  his  horns 
and  scampered  off  (to  escape  from  the  ants).  So 
the  Mouse-deer  cut  the  throat  of  the  Bull  of  the 
Young  Bush  (according  to  the  Muhammedan  rites) 
and  began  to  flay  the  skin  from  the  carcase. 

At  this  moment  Rimau  the  Tiger  appeared 
and  said,  "Will  you  share  your  meat  with  me?" 
And  the  Mouse-deer  said,  "By  all  means."  But 
when  he  had  finished  flaying,  rain  began  to  fall, 
and  the  Mouse-deer  ordered  the  Tiger  to  cut  him 
some  prickly  boughs  (with  which  to  make  a  shelter 
from  the  rain) — boughs  of  the  "  Riseh,"  and  boughs 
of  the  "Tiinggal  duri."  The  Tiger  did  so  and 
slung  them  across  his  shoulder  to  carry  them  home, 
but  the  river  bank  was  very  slippery  and  his 
shoulders  were  smeared  all  over  with  blood  as  he 
kept  trying  to  clamber  on  to  the  raft. 

Just    then,   seeing   the   Mouse-deer,  he    asked, 

31 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

"What  in  the  world  makes  you  shiver  so,  Friend 
Mouse-deer?"  The  Mouse-deer  replied  (in  fero- 
cious tones),  "  I  am  quivering  with  anticipation  !  " 
and  the  Tiger,  thinking  that  the  Mouse-deer  had 
designs  upon  himself,  became  so  nervous  that  he 
plunged  into  the  river,  and  left  the  meat  to  the 
Mouse-deer. 


32 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


THE   KING-CROW    AND   THE    WATER-SNAIL. 


A  WATER-SNAIL  was  coming  up-stream 
-^  ^  from  the  lower  reaches,  when  a  King-crow 
heard  it.  Said  the  King-crow  to  himself,  "Who 
can  it  be  coming  up-stream,  that  exclaims  so  loudly 
at  the  rapids  ?  One  might  say  it  was  a  man,  but 
that  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen."  So  the  King- 
crow  settled  on  a  tree  to  watch,  but  as  he  could 
see  nothing  from  his  perch  on  the  tree  he  flew  down 
to  the  ground,  and  walked  along  by  the  water-side. 
And  when  he  thought  to  see  some  man  exclaiming, 
he  caught  sight  of  the  Water-snail. 

"Hullo,  you  there,"  said  he,  "where  do    you 
come    from .?  "     "I    come    from    the    eddy   below 
the    rapids,"   said    the   Water-snail,   "and    I    only 
s-  33  5 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

want  to  get  as  far  as  the  head-waters  of  this  river." 
Said  the  King-crow,  "Wait  a  bit.  Suppose  you 
go  down  to  the  river-mouth  as  quickly  as  you  can 
and  we  will  have  a  wager  on  it."  (Now  rivers 
are  the  Water-snail's  domain,  in  which  he  has 
many  comrades.) 

"What  is  to  be  the  stake?"  asked  the  Water- 
snail.  *'If  I  am  beaten  I  will  be  your  slave,  and 
look  after  your  aroids^  and  wild  calladiums^"  (on 
which  the  Water-snails  feed).  Then  the  King- 
crow  asked,  "And  what  will  you  stake?"  The 
Water-snail  replied,  "If  I  am  beaten,  the  river  shall 
be  handed  over  to  you  and  you  shall  be  King 
of  the  River."  But  the  Water-snail  begged  for  a 
delay  of  twice  seven  days,  saying  that  he  felt 
knocked  up  after  ascending  the  rapids.  And  the 
delay  was  granted  accordingly. 

Meanwhile  however  the  Water-snail  hunted  up 
a  great  number  of  his  friends  and  instructed  them 
to  conceal  themselves  in  each  of  the  higher  reaches 
of  the  river,  and  to  reply  immediately  when  the 
King-crow  challenged  them. 

1  Birah. 

*  Kemahang. 

34 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

The  day  arrived,  and  the  King-crow  flew  off, 
and  in  each  of  the  higher  reaches  the  Water-snail's 
friends  replied  to  the  challenge.  And  at  the  river- 
mouth  the  Water-snail  replied  in  person.  So  the 
King-crow  was  defeated  and  has  ever  since  re- 
mained the  slave  of  the  Water-snail. 


m 


35 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


FATHER   'FOLLOW-MY-NOSE'   AND   THE 
FOUR   PRIESTS. 


A. 


OLD  Father  'Follow-my-nose,'  he  would  walk 
straight.  When  he  came  to  a  house  he 
would  climb  over  the  house,  and  when  he  came  to 
a  tree  he  would  climb  over  the  treeP  So  one  day  he 
came  to  a  '  Jerai '  tree,  and  after  climbing  up  it  (on 
the  one  side)  he  was  commencing  to  climb  down 
the  branches  (on  the  other)  when  he  was  observed 
by  four  Priests  of  the  Yellow  Robe. 

"  If  you  try  to  get  down  that  way,  you'll 
inevitably  fall  and  kill  yourself,"  was  the  caution 
given  by  the  Yellow-Robes,  and  they  forthwith 
proceeded  to  spread  out  one  of  their  Yellow  Robes 
to  catch  him  in,  each  of  the  four  Priests  holding 
it  by  one  corner. 

Father  '  Follow-my-nose  '  however  threw  him- 
self down  without  a  moment's  warning,  and  the 
heads  of  the  four  Priests  were  violently  dashed 
together  so  that  they  all  four  immediately  broke 
their  own  pates. 

36 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

Old  Father  Follow-my-nose  himself,  however, 
took  no  sort  of  harm,  and  so  without  turning  aside 
he  went  on  till  he  reached  the  hut  of  an  aged 
crone  dwelling  on  the  outskirts  of  a  village.  Here 
he  halted  while  the  crone  went  out  to  pick  up  the 
bodies  of  the  four  Priests  and  bring  them  back 
with  her  to  the  hut.  And  presently  an  opium-eater 
passed,  and  the  crone  called  out  to  him,  "  Hullo, 
Mr  Opium-Eater,  if  you'll  bury  me  this  '  Yellow- 
Robe '  here,  I'll  give  you  a  dollar."  To  this  the 
opium-eater  agreed  and  took  the  body  away  to  bury 
it.  But  when  he  came  back  for  his  money  he 
found  the  second  Priest's  body  awaiting  him,  and 
said  to  himself  "  The  fellow  must  have  come  to 
life  again,"  and  took  it  away  to  bury  it.  Twice 
again  this  same  thing  happened,  and  so  the  bodies  of 
all  the  four  Priests  were  buried.  But  by  the  time  the 
last  was  buried  it  was  broad  daylight,  and  the  opium- 
eater  was  afraid  to  go  back  again  for  his  money. 


""S^ 


37 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


THE  ELEPHANT  PRINCESS   AND  THE  PRINCE. 

nr^HE  Prophet  Adam  quarrelled  with  the  Lady 
-■-  Eve  and  they  declared  they  would  live  apart 
from  each  other.  Then  Adam  having  taken  up 
his  abode  by  the  sea-coast  produce  the  Great 
Demon  (who  is  known  by  many  different  names). 
But  the  Lady  Eve  crossed  the  sea,  making  a 
bridge  of  a  Soap-vine  stem  (which  had  grown  across 
the  Straits)  and  became  Queen  of  the  People  on 
the  Other  Side.  There  she  gave  birth  to  a  daughter 
who  was  called  the  Youngest  Princess.  When  this 
Princess  grew  up,  the  Queen  warned  her  that  if 
ever  she  crossed  the  water  she  must  on  no  account 
harry  the  fields  of  cane  or  maize  or  bananas  be- 
longing to  the  People  on  the  Other  Side.  One  day 
however  the  Princess  crossed  over  by  means  of 
the  Soap-vine  stem,  and  forgetting  her  mother's 
warning  she  harried  the  fields  of  the  Other  People, 
and  was  immediately  transformed  into  an  Elephant. 
In  this  guise  she  was  encountered  by  a  young 
38 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

Prince  who  was  studying  at  a  Monastery  near  by, 
and  the  latter,  seeing  the  great  beast  in  his  path, 
struck  her  in  the  centre  of  the  forehead  with  his 
iron-shod  pike  so  that  the  point  broke  off  short  in 
the  skin.  On  reaching  home  he  reported  the 
affair  to  the  Head  of  his  Monastery,  saying  that  he 
had  met  a  powerful  beast  of  great  size  which  had  a 
tail  at  each  end.  The  Head  however,  being  a  wise 
man,  knew  from  his  account  that  it  was  a  Princess 
in  disguise,  and  allowed  the  young  man  to  set  out  to 
find  her  again.  Presently  the  Prince  came  to  the  sea- 
shore, and  in  order  to  cross  over  the  Straits  he  scooped 
out  the  contents  of  a  giant  gourd,  and  seating  himself 
inside  it,  and,  guiding  himself  by  the  Soap-vine  stem, 
he  reached  the  other  side  in  safety.  On  his  arrival 
he  made  enquiry  and  was  told  that  the  Queen's 
daughter  was  sick.  Offering  his  services  as  a 
physician  he  obtained  entry  into  the  Palace,  where 
he  was  shown  the  Princess,  with  his  iron  pike-head 
still  buried  in  her  forehead.  He  then  asked  the  Queen 
to  erect  on  the  sea-shore  a  Chamber  like  a  Royal 
Audience-Hall,  and  at  the  same  time  to  build  him  a 
big  sailing-vessel  whose  beak  should  protrude  into  the 
Chamber.  When  this  was  done  the  Princess  was 
39 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

carried  into  the  Chamber  ;  and  the  Prince  having 
entered  in  secret  plucked  out  the  iron  point  from  her 
forehead  so  that  she  fell  into  a  swoon.  The  iron  pike- 
head  he  concealed  in  a  bamboo  tube,  and  exhibiting 
the  Princess  to  her  family  as  she  lay  in  a  dead  faint, 
he  brought  her  back  to  life  by  whistling  and  patting 
her  ;  and  when  she  came  to,  he  caused  her  to  be 
carried  home  in  procession.  For  this  service  he 
received  the  Princess's  hand.  After  living  for  some 
years  in  happiness  with  her  he  wished  to  revisit  his 
own  country;  and  the  Princess  accompanied  him, 
taking  with  her  a  train  of  thirty-nine  attendants. 
Before  the  Princess  departed  the  Queen  repeated 
her  former  warning,  but  the  Princess  again  dis- 
regarding it  was  turned  back  into  an  elephant,  both 
she,  and  all  her  attendants  with  her. 


40 


from  an  Eastern   Forest 


THE   ELEPHANT   HAS    A    BET    WITH 
THE  TIGER. 


T  N  the  beginning  Gajah  the  Elephant  and  Rimau 
-■-  the  Tiger  were  sworn  friends.  But  one  day 
they  came  to  a  clearing  and  presently  encountered 
Lotong,  the  long-tailed  Spectacle-monkey.  And 
when  he  saw  the  Monkey  the  Elephant  said,  "  Mr 
Lotong  yonder  is  far  too  noisy  ;  let  us  try  and 
shake  him  off;  if  he  falls  to  me  I  am  to  eat  you  ; 
and  if  he  falls  to  you,  you  are  to  eat  me — we  will  yy 

make  a  wager  of  it."    The  Tiger  said,  "Agreed  .?  "  ^^^^/' 

and  the  Elephant  replied,  "Agreed. "  "  Very  well !  " 
said  the  Tiger;  "you  shall  try  and  menace  him 
first."  So  the  Elephant  tried  to  menace  the 
Monkey.  "  AU  !  AU  !  AU  !  "  he  trumpeted,  and 
each  time  he  trumpeted  the  Monkey  was  scared. 
But  the  Monkey  went  jumping  head  foremost 
s.  41  6 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

through  the  branches  and  never  fell  to  the  ground 
at  all. 

Presently,  therefore,  the  Tiger  asked  the  Ele- 
phant, "  Well,  Friend  Elephant,  would  you  like  to 
try  your  luck  again  ? "  But  the  Elephant  said, 
"  No,  thank  you.  It  shall  be  your  turn  now  ;  and 
if  he  falls  to  you,  you  shall  eat  me — if  you  really  can 
make  him  fall !  "  Then  the  Tiger  went  and  roared 
his  longest  and  loudest,  and  shortened  his  body  as 
for  a  spring  and  growled  and  menaced  the  Monkey 
thrice.  And  the  Monkey  leaped  and  fell  at  the 
Tiger's  feet,  for  his  feet  and  hands  were  paralysed 
and  would  not  grip  the  branches  any  more.  Then 
the  Tiger  said,  "  Well,  Friend  Elephant,  I  suppose 
I  may  eat  you  now."  But  the  Elephant  said, 
"You  have,  I  admit,  won  the  wager;  but  I  beg 
you  to  grant  me  just  seven  days'  respite,  to  enable 
me  to  visit  my  wife  and  children  and  to  make  my 
will."  The  Tiger  granted  the  request,  and  the 
Elephant  went  home,  bellowing  and  sobbing  every 
foot  of  the  way. 

Now  the  Elephant's  wife  heard  the  sound  of  her 
husband's  voice,  and  said  to  her  children,  "  What 
can  be  the  matter  with  your  Father  that  he  keeps 
42 


from  an  Eastern   Forest 

sobbing  so  ?  "  And  the  children  listened  to  make 
sure  and  said,  "  Yes,  it  really  is  Father's  voice, 
the  sobbing,  and  not  that  of  anybody  else." 
Presently  Father  Elephant  arrived,  and  Mother 
Elephant  asked,  "  What  were  you  sobbing  for, 
Father?  What  have  you  done  to  yourself?" 
Father  Elephant  replied,  "  I  made  a  wager  with 
Friend  Tiger  about  shaking  down  a  Monkey,  and 
Friend  Tiger  beat  me  ;  I  menaced  the  Monkey, 
but  he  did  not  fall  ;  if  he  had  fallen  to  me,  I 
was  to  have  eaten  Friend  Tiger,  but  if  he  fell 
to  Friend  Tiger,  Friend  Tiger  was  to  eat  me.  I 
was  beaten,  and  now  Friend  Tiger  says  he  is  going 
to  eat  me.  So  I  begged  leave  to  come  home  and 
see  you,  and  he  has  given  me  just  seven  days' 
respite." 

Now  for  the  seven  days  Father  Elephant 
kept  sobbing  aloud,  and  neither  ate  nor  slept. 
And  the  thing  came  to  the  hearing  of  Friend 
Mouse-deer.  "What  can  be  the  matter  with 
Priend  Elephant  that  he  keeps  bellowing  and 
bellowing,  neither  does  he  sleep,  so  that  night  is 
turned  into  day,  and  day  into  night  ?  What  on 
earth  is  the  matter  with  him  ?  Suppose  I  go  and 
43 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

see  "  (said  the  Mouse-deer).  Then  the  Mouse-deer 
went  to  see  what  was  wrong,  and  asked,  "  What  is 
the  matter  with  you.  Friend  Elephant,  that  we  hear 
you  bellowing  and  bellowing  every  single  day  and 
every  single  night,  just  now,  too,  when  the  Rains 
are  upon  us?     You  are  far  too  noisy." 

But  the  Elephant  said,  "It  is  no  mere  empty 
noise,  Friend  Mouse-deer,  I  have  got  into  a  dread- 
ful scrape."  "What  sort  of  a  scrape?"  enquired 
the  Mouse-deer.  "  I  made  a  wager  with  PViend 
Tiger  about  shaking  down  a  Monkey,  and  he 
beat  me."  "What  was  the  stake?"  asked  the 
Mouse-deer.  "  The  stake  was  that  Friend  Tiger 
might  eat  me  if  Friend  Tiger  frightened  it  down ; 
and  if  I  frightened  it  down,  I  might  eat  Friend 
Tiger.  It  fell  to  Friend  Tiger,  and  now  Friend 
Tiger  wants  to  eat  me.  And  my  reason  for  not 
eating  or  sleeping  any  more  is  that  I  have  got 
only  just  seven  days'  respite  to  go  home  and  visit 
my  wife  and  children  and  to  make  my  will." 
Then  the  Mouse-deer  said,  "  If  it  came  to  Friend 
\, Tiger's  eating  you,  I  should  feel  exceedingly  sorrow- 
jful,  exceedingly  distressed  :  but  things  being  only 
as  you  say,  I   feel   neither."     "If  you  will   assist 

44 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

mc,  I  will  become  your  slave,  and  my  descendants 
shall  be  your  slaves  for  ever."  "Very  well,  if  that 
is  the  case,  I  will  assist  you,"  said  the  Mouse-deer. 
**  Go  and  look  for  a  jar-full  of  molasses."  friend 
Elephant  promised  to  do  so,  and  went  to  look  for 
it  at  the  house  of  a  maker  of  Palm-wine.  The 
owner  of  the  house  fled  for  his  life,  and  the 
jar  fell  into  Friend  Elephant's  possession,  who 
bore  it  back  to  the  Mouse-deer. 

Then  Friend  Mouse-deer  said,  "  When  does 
your  promise  expire  ?  "  and  Friend  Elephant  replied, 
"To-morrow."  So  when  next  morning  arrived  they 
started,  and  the  Mouse-deer  said,  "  Now  pour  the 
molasses  over  your  back  and  let  it  spread  and  spread 
and  run  down  your  legs."  Friend  Elephant  did  as 
he  was  ordered.  Friend  Mouse-deer  then  instructed 
the  Elephant  as  follows :  "  As  soon  as  I  begin  to 
lick  up  the  molasses  on  your  back,  bellow  as  loud 
as  you  can  and  make  believe  to  be  hurt,  and  writhe 
and  wriggle  this  way  and  that." 

And  presently  Friend  Mouse-deer  commenced 
to  lick  hard,  and  Friend  Elephant  writhed  and 
wriggled  and  made  believe  to  be  hurt,  and  made  a 
prodigious  noise  of  trumpeting.      In  this  way  they 

45 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

proceeded  and  Friend  Mouse-deer  got  up  and  sat 
astride  upon  Friend  Elephant's  back.  And  the 
Elephant  trumpeted  and  trumpeted  all  the  way 
till  they  met  with  Friend  Tiger.  At  this  Friend 
Mouse-deer  exclaimed,  "A  single  Elephant  is  very 
short  commons ;  if  I  could  only  catch  that  big 
and  fat  old  Tiger  there,  it  would  be  just  enough 
to  satisfy  my  hunger." 

Now  when  Friend  Tiger  heard  these  words  of 
the  Mouse-deer,  he  said  to  himself,  "  So  I  suppose 
if  you  catch  me,  you'll  eat  me  into  the  bargain,  will 
you  ?  "  And  Friend  Tiger  stayed  not  a  moment 
longer,  but  fled  for  his  life,  fetching  very  lofty 
bounds. 

And  soon  he  met  with  the  Black  Ape,  and 
Friend  Ape  asked,  "  Why  running  so  hard.  Friend 
Tiger?  Why  so  much  noiseyand  why,  just  when 
the  Rains  are  upon  us,  too,  do  you  go  fetching  such 
lofty  bounds  ?  "  Friend  Tiger  replied,  "  What  do 
you  mean  by  '  so  much  noise '  ?  What  was  the 
Thing  that  was  got  upon  Friend  Elephant's  back, 
that  had  caught  Friend  Elephant  and  was  de- 
vouring him  so  that  he  went  writhing  and  wriggling 
for  the  pain  of  it,  and  the  blood  went  streaming 
46 


IX.     "And  Friend  Elephant  writhed  and  wriggled  and  made  believe  to  be  hurt, 
and  made  a  prodigious  noise  of  trumpeting." 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

down    in   floods  ?     Moreover   the   Thing   that   was 
got  on  Friend  Elephant's  back  said,  to  my  hearing, 
that  a  single  Elephant  was  very  short   commons  : 
but  if  It   could  catch  a  fat  old  Tiger  like  myself 
that  would  be  just  enough  to  satisfy  Its  hunger." 
Friend  Ape  said,  "What  was  that  Thing,  Friend    — 
Tiger?"    "I  don't  know,"  said  the  Tiger.     "Ah,"  - 
mused  the  Ape,  "  I  wonder  if  it  could  be  Friend    — 
Mouse-deer!"     "Certainly  not,"  said  the  Tiger; 
"why,  how  in  the  world  could  Friend  Mouse-deer 
swallow   Me  ?     To   say  nothing  of  his   not   being 
used  to  meat  food  "  (said  he).      "  Come  and  let  us     - 
go  back  again." 

Then  they  went  back  again  to  find  the  Elephant, 
and  first  the  Ape  went  the  faster,  and  then  the 
Tiger  went  the  faster,  and  then  the  Ape  got  in 
front  again.  But/  Friend  Mouse-deer  sitting  on  , 
Friend  Elephant's  back  saw  them  coming  and 
shouted,  "Hullo,  Father  Ape"  (said  he),  "this 
is  a  dog's  trick  indeed ;  you  promise  to  bring  me 
two  tigers  and  you  only  bring  me  one.  I  refuse  to 
accept  it,  Father  Ape." 

Now  when   Friend   Tiger    heard   this,   he   ran 
off  at  first  as  fast   as   he   could,  but   presently  he 

47 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

slackened  his  pace  and  said,  "  It  is  too  bad  of 
you,  Friend  Ape,  for  trying  to  cozen  me,  in  order 
to  pay  your  own  debts.  For  shame  !  Father  Ape  ! 
It  was  only  through  good  luck  that  he  refused  to 
accept  me  ;  if  he  had  accepted,  I  should  have  been 
dead  and  done  with.  So  now,  if  you  come  down 
to  the  ground,  you  shall  die  the  death  yourself,  just 
for  your  trying  to  cheat  me."  Thus  the  Tiger  and 
the  Ape  were  set  at  enmity,  and  to  this  day  the 
Tiger  is  very  wroth  with  the  Ape  for  trying  to 
cheat  him.     And  here  the  story  ends. 


48 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


PRINCESS   SADONG   OF  THE   CAVES,    WHO 
REFUSED    HER   SUITORS. 


T  F  you  ever  get  lost  in  the  Jungle  for  two  or 
-'-  three  days  together,  you  will  come  to  a  country 
called  "  What-you-will."  In  the  chief  town  of 
What-you-will  there  is  a  royal  Pleasure-garden  of 
extraordinary  size  in  which  you  may  see  growing 
many  wonderful  trees  such  as  the  Tree  Sugar-cane 
and  the  Sweet  Lemon.  There  you  will  see  the 
tracks  of  Little  People  but  none  of  Grown-ups. 
There  too  you  may  hear  the  noise  of  great  mirth 
and  merriment,  but  will  see  nothing  till  late  at 
night  when  everybody  is  asleep ;  then  the  Little 
People  come  out  to  amuse  themselves  with  singing 
s.  49  7 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

and  dancing  and  act  the  story  of  Sagembang.  Very 
pleasant  it  is  to  see,  but  everyone  who  owns  rice- 
fields  near  by  has  to  use  plenty  of  magic  to  keep 
the  Little  People  from  stealing  his  rice. 

Here    is    the    country    of   Princess   Sadong,    in 

whose  charge  are  all  the  caves  and  hollows  of  the 

Limestone  Hills.    She  it  was  who  was  born  from  the 

big  stem  of  Bamboo  and  who  rules  over  the  Little 

<_j>  People,  as  well  as  over  the  wild  Hill-goats. 

A  Prince  named  Raja  Saga  first  fell  very  much 
in  love  with  Princess  Sadong,  but  when  he  pressed 
his  suit  she  told  him  she  would  marry  nobody 
who  did  not  possess  the  White  Blood  (which  only 
belongs  to  royalty  of  pure  descent). 

Now  Raja  Saga  could  not  pretend  to  possess 
this  mark  of  pure  descent,  and  so  he  received  his 
dismissal  and  his  heart  was  broken  so  that  he  died. 

Afterwards  the  Prince  who  was  born  in  the 
Foam  asked  Princess  Sadong  to  marry  him,  but  the 
Princess  refused  him  also.  Moreover  she  lost  her 
temper  and  scratched  his  forehead  with  the  point  of 
her  dagger,  so  that  he  fled  to  a  far  country.  Here 
he  settled,  and  after  many  years  became  a  powerful 
Monarch,  but  he  could  not  forget  Princess  Sadong, 

5° 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

and  so  he  returned  to  her  country  and  besought  an 
audience.  Now  when  the  Princess  saw  him  she 
recognised  him  by  the  scar  upon  his  brow,  and 
commanded  one  of  her  Body-guard  to  kill  him,  and 
thus   the  Foam-prince  died  also. 


m 


51 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


THE  SAINT  THAT   WAS   SHOT    OUT 
OF   HIS   OWN   CANNON. 

•'  I  "'HE  Raja  of  Patani  ordered  Che  Long  to  cast 
-*-  a  couple  of  cannon.  The  first  one  was  cast 
successfully,  but  the  second  one  at  every  attempt 
cracked  in  pieces.  At  length  the  Raja  told  Che 
Long  (the  workman)  that  if  he  could  not  succeed 
in  casting  it  at  the  next  trial,  he  should  die  the 
death.  Che  Long  replied,  "  I  will  cast  it  then  at 
all  costs,"  and  in  despair  of  saving  his  life,  he 
uttered  a  vow  and  said,  "  So  my  Raja's  pleasure 
be  fulfilled,  may  I  take  the  place  of  a  cannon- 
ball  and  be  shot  out  of  my  own  gun."  As  soon 
as  the  words  were  uttered  the  casting  succeeded  and 
"  Che  Long "  entering  the  gun  caused  it  to  be 
fired.  The  charge  was  exploded  in  front  of  the 
Palace  gate  at  Gresik  and  Che  Long  only  fell  to 
earth  when  he  reached  the  village  at  Kuala  Barat  six 
miles  away.  Here  his  remains  received  burial,  and 
a  shrine  was  built  and  called  by  the  name  of  The 

52 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

Saint  of  the  Western  River-mouth.  Now  in  the 
meanwhile  the  two  guns  were  put  on  board  ship  to 
be  conveyed  to  Bangkok,  and  on  the  way  they 
were  both  discharged,  one  of  them  called  the  Luck 
of  Patani  emitting  a  great  roar  and  enveloping  the 
whole  country  in  smoke.  This  gun  is  still  to  be 
seen  at  Bangkok.  But  the  other  one  fell  overboard 
between  Telok  Tengar  and  Sabor,  and  was  lost. 
And  up  to  this  day  vows  are  paid  at  the  Tomb  of 
Che  Long,  especially  for  the  recovery  of  lost  or 
straying  cattle,  whose  milk  when  the  cattle  are 
recovered  is  offered  at  the  tomb.  And  in  the  case 
of  lost  or  •  straying  cattle,  the  Patani  folk  say, 
"  Fool  me  not.  Grandfather,  but  point  out  to  me 
where  my  cattle  are,  and  if  you  do  so  I'll  make  a 
pilgrimage  to  your  tomb." 


53 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


THE  SAINTS  WHOSE  GRAVE-STONES   MOVED. 


''  I  ^O'  Panjang  or  "Father  Lanky"  (as  he  is 
-*-  generally  called)  was  one  of  the  earliest 
apostles  of  Islam  in  the  State  of  Patani  and  en- 
joyed a  great  reputation.  At  length  however 
Sah  Nyaya  the  Unjust  King  came  to  the  throne 
and  requested  To'  Panjang  to  assist  in  casting  some 
cannon,  the  copper  being  placed  in  his  charge  for  the 
purpose.  But  one  day  a  foreign  merchant  came  to 
visit  him  and  begged  for  a  portion  of  the  copper, 
which  the  Saint  gave  him,  intending  no  harm  thereby. 
Taxed  by  the  Raja  with  stealing  his  copper,  To' 
Panjang  admitted  his  mistake  and  was  condemned 
to  die  the  death.  A  pupil  of  his  own  was  chosen  to 
execute  the  sentence,  but  refused  to  do  so,  whereupon 
54 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

both  master  and  pupil  were  strangled^  and  their  bodies 
thrown  into  the  Patfini  River,  which  then  escaped 
to  the  sea  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Jambu.  But 
when  they  were  thrown  into  the  river  the  two 
corpses'  instead  of  sinking  stood  miraculously  upright 
in  the  water,  and  in  this  position  travelled  continually 
against  the  stream,  both  at  flood  and  ebb.  At  length 
however  the  Raja  commanded  the  remains  of  both 
saints  to  be  buried  ashore,  but  as  often  as  the  bodies 
were  measured  for  their  shrouds,  so  often  they  kept 
outgrowing  them.  At  length  therefore  a  goat  was 
sacrificed  and  the  shrouds  having  then  been  measured 
again  were  at  last  found  to  be  of  the  correct  length. 
The  burial  therefore  was  completed ;  but  up  to  this 
day  the  grave-stones  of  both  saints  continue  to  make 
miraculous  movements  in  proof  of  the  divine  nature 
of  To'  Panjang  and  his  pupil. 

These  two  tombs  are  very  potent  shrines  and 
they  lie  about  two  or  three  miles  along  Patani  Point. 

^  According  to  another  version,  they  were  both  beheaded, 
-  According  to  another  version  (though  I  cannot  say,  a  more 
likely  one)  it  was  the  granite  grave-stones  which  miraculously 
floated  and  which  ever  since  have  continued  to  move  (by  way  of 
mute  protest,  it  may  be  supposed,  against  the  high-handed  action 
of  the  Unjust  King),  even  when  set  at  rest  ashore. 

55 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

The  grave-stones  at  head  and  foot  are  usually  found 
to  be  about  ten  feet  apart,  but  it  is  customary  to 
measure  the  distance  between  them  twice  running 
in  order  to  take  omens  as  to  the  length  of  one's 
future  life.  The  second  measurement  always  comes 
different  from  the  first ;  but  if  the  second  measure- 
ment proves  to  be  the  longer,  one's  future  life  will 
be  long  in  the  like  proportion. 


^'J^ 


56 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


NAKHODA    RAGAM    WHO    WAS    PRICKED 
TO    DEATH   BY    HIS    WIFE'S    NEEDLE. 

SHIP-MASTER  Ragam  was  the  master  of  a 
Malay  merchant-vessel,  and  one  day  he 
sailed  from  Jering  taking  with  him  his  beautiful 
wife  Che  Sit!  of  whom  he  was  very  fond.  On 
the  way  she  was  annoyed  by  her  husband's  in- 
cessant embraces  and  warned  him  to  be  more 
careful,  reminding  him  that  she  was  sewing,  and 
remarking  how  unlucky  it  was  to  indulge  in  such 
gallantries  at  sea.  Such  was  his  infatuation  how- 
ever that  he  paid  no  heed  to  her  warnings,  and 
as  he  was  attempting  once  more  to  embrace 
her,  she  pricked  him  to  the  heart  with  her  needle 
so  that  he  died. 

When  she  saw  that  her  husband  was  dead  she 
was   alarmed,  and   shut    up  the  dead   body   in   the 
s.  57  8 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

deck-house,  and  whenever  any  of  the  crew  asked 
questions,  she  said,  "The  master  has  fever."  But 
when  they  reached  Jering,  she  buried  the  remains 
at  Banggor,  and  the  spirit  of  Nakhoda  Ragam 
entered  the  body  of  an  old  crocodile. 

That  is  why  it  is  still  the  custom,  whenever  a 
big  crocodile  appears  in  these  parts,  for  folk  to  say, 
"  Nakhoda  Ragam,  your  grandchildren  beg  leave  to 
pass,"  when  he  will  immediately  disappear  beneath 
the  surface. 


58 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


THE   LEGEND   OF   PATANI. 

THERE  once  lived,  in  the  interior  of  Raman 
(a  province  of  Patani),  a  King  of  the  Fairies 
who  had  a  beautiful  daughter  named  Princess  Nang 
Chdyang.  This  Fairy  Princess  was  first  of  all  born 
in  a  cave,  but  the  old  astrologer  prophesied  evil  of 
her  and  said,  "  This  infant  must  never  be  kept  ashore, 
set  her  adrift  on  the  water."  Therefore  a  feast  of 
purification  was  held  in  the  land,  and  the  Fairy  Prin- 
cess was  thrown  into  the  river  to  drown.  Instead  of 
drowning  however  she  rose  to  the  surface,  and 
floated  down  the  river,  resting  on  a  mass  of  foam. 
As  she  floated  down  she  was  rescued  by  Raja  Siung, 
the  Tuslcy  Prince.  He  was  called  the  Tusky  Prince 
because  he  ate  men's  flesh  till  his  eye-teeth  developed 

59 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

into  tusks  like  those  of  a  cannibaP.  For  once  when 
a  follower  of  his  had  taken  the  carcase  of  a  slain 
goat  (which  was  to  be  roasted  for  the  Prince)  down 
to  the  river,  to  scour  it,  a  vulture  flew  down  while 
his  back  was  turned,  and  carried  off  the  goat's  heart. 
The  young  man  feared  to  take  back  the  flesh  without 
the  heart,  therefore  he  slew  a  boy  who  was  passing 
by  and  forced  into  the  goat's  carcase  the  heart  of 
his  victim.  So  the  Prince  partook  of  the  boy's  heart, 
and  when  he  had  eaten  it,  he  rejoiced  and  said,  "This 
is  a  better  goat's  heart  than  any  I  have  tasted.  Why 
is  it  so  much  sweeter  than  that  of  other  goats  I  have 
eaten?"  At  first  the  youth  said  nothing,  but  after- 
wards he  confessed  that  it  was  the  heart  of  a  boy. 
So  the  Prince  commanded  to  slay  a  boy  daily,  in 
order  that  he  might  eat  the  heart  thereof.  Where- 
fore his  tusks  grew  like  those  of  a  cannibal,  two  at 
top  and  two  at  bottom. 

Now  when   Raja    Siung   had    rescued   Princess 


^  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that  one  of  the 
old  Sanskrit  names  for  the  Tiger  was  "  Chatur-danta"  or  the 
"  Four-Toothed  "  (animal).  This  epithet  applies  of  course  to  the 
four  big  canines  or  eye-teeth  which  are  so  prominent  a  charac- 
teristic of  the  Tiger  (though  found  in  many  other  animals). 

60 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

Nang  Chiyang  he  brought  her  up  in  his  own  palace. 
And  one  day  when  he  was  hunting  in  the  Jungle 
he  heard  the  voice  of  a  child,  and  going  to  the  spot 
he  found  a  male  infant  within  the  hollow  stem  of  a 
big  Bamboo  which  had  been  riven  open  by  the  wind. 
This  infant  he  adopted  also,  and  brought  up  the  two 
children  together.  And  one  day  when  they  were 
sitting  on  his  knees  and  playing,  each  of  them 
by  accident^  pulled  out  a  pair  of  the  tusks.  And 
when  the  Princess  grew  up,  she  married  Prince 
Samara  Muda.  But  the  boy  was  ancestor  of  the 
Rajas  of  Raman,  who  may  not  partake  of  the  young 
Bamboo  shoots,  because  their  ancestor  came  out  of 
the  Bamboo  before  ever  they  entered  Islam. 


^  This  explains  why  the  tusks  have  disappeared  in  the  Raja 
of  Raman's  descendants. 


6i 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


A    MALAYAN   DELUGE. 


T  N  the  beginning  the  country  of  Keldntan  con- 
-*-  tained  eighteen  hundred  souls.  But  one  day 
a  great  Feast  was  made  for  a  Circumcision,  and  all 
manner  of  beasts  were  pitted  to  fight  against  each 
other.  There  were  fights  between  elephants  and 
fights  between  buffaloes  and  fights  between  bullocks 
and  fights  between  goats,  and  at  the  last  there  were 
fights  between  dogs  and  cats. 

And  when  the  fights  took  place  between  dogs 
and  cats  a  great  Flood  came  down  from  the  moun- 
tains, and  overwhelmed  the  people  that  dwelt  in  the 
plains.  And  they  were  all  drowned  in  that  flood, 
save  only  some  two  or  three  menials  who  had  been 
sent  up  into  the  Hills  to  collect  firewood. 
62 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

Then  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  were  extin- 
guished, and  there  was  a  great  darkness.  And 
when  h'ght  returned,  there  was  no  land  but  a 
great  sea,  and  all  the  habitations  of  man  had  been 
overwhelmed. 


0- 


63 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 


KING   SOLOMON   AND   THE   BIRDS. 

TT'  ING  Solomon  commanded  all  Birds  who 
-^^  were  his  subjects  to  go  forth  to  hunt  for 
food  and  to  return  everyone  of  them  together  at 
nightfall.  And  in  the  evening  when  he  had  called 
his  subjects  together  again,  the  Eagle,  one  of  his 
own  Body-guard,  was  found  to  be  missing.  Then 
King  Solomon  commanded  enquiry  to  be  made, 
"  On  what  errand  went  this  comrade  of  yours  ?  " 
And  the  most  of  them  made  reply,  "  He  went  on 
no  errand  ;  he  simply  neglected  to  accompany  us." 
"If  that  is  the  case,"  spake  the  King,  "he  is  nothing 
but  a  rebel,  and  wherever  you  meet  him,  you  are  to 
cut  him  down  without  question  asked."  On  hearing 
this,  however,  the  Blue  Heron  made  answer  and 
said,  "Assuredly  he  went  on  some  errand  or  other; 
I  crave  one  day's  respite  "  (said  he).  And  a  like 
reply  was  made  by  the  Woodpecker,  saying,  "  If  he 
64 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

had  done  any  wrong,  I  should  be  the  first  person 
to  know  of  it.  Am  I  not  one  of  your  Majesty's 
Body-guard,  and  could  I  not  settle  it  if  he  had  done 
any  wrong  ?  I  crave  two  days'  respite  "  (said  he). 
But  the  Thrush  said  only,  "I  crave  three  days." 
So  Solomon  the  King  granted  three  days'  respite. 
Now  when  the  days  of  respite  were  ended,  the 
Eagle  returned  and  sought  his  comrades.  And  he 
took  counsel  with  the  Woodpecker  and  persuaded 
him  to  enter  King  Solomon's  presence. 

Then  the  Woodpecker  went  in  before  the  King, 
and  made  obeisance,  and  said,  "The  Eagle,  your 
Majesty,  did  not  return  the  other  day  because  he 
found  in  a  cavern  of  the  rocks  a  follower  of  Her 
Highness  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  the  Genii, 
who  is  a  person  of  surpassing  beauty  and  worthy  to 
become  a  consort  of  your  Majesty."  To  this  the 
King  replied,  "Very  well,  if  you  are  strong  enough  to 
do  so,  take  her  from  him,  you  have  our  permission." 
But  the  Eagle  had  arranged  with  the  Woodpecker 
to  excavate  a  hollow  in  a  tree,  and  they  had  put 
the  Princess  in  the  hollow  and  closed  the  aperture 
with  pitch  and  the  Eagle  had  mounted  guard  there. 
So  when    the    King    heard   this    he    said,    "  Bring 

s.  6s  9 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

them  both  here,  and  I  will  grant  his  life."  Then  the 
Eagle  brought  the  Princess  before  King  Solomon, 
and  the  King  commanded  the  Queen  to  make  a 
lather  of  powdered  rice  and  wash  it  off  the  Princess's 
person  again  with  limes.  At  this  the  Princess's 
feathers  disappeared  and  the  white  markings  of  her 
skin  showed  up  in  all  their  beauty.  Thus  the 
daughter  of  the  King  of  the  Genii  was  married  unto 
Solomon  the  King. 

o 

Now  when  all  these  things  had  happened,  King 
Solomon  spake  unto  the  assembled  Birds  and  said, 
"  If  ye  had  had  nothing  to  say,  ye  should  have 
spoken  like  the  Thrush.  If  ye  had  aught  to  say, 
ye  should  have  spoken  like  the  Blue  Heron."  And 
he  cursed  all  the  other  birds  with  a  great  curse. 
And  that  is  why  to  this  day  there  are  birds  of  so 
many  different  sorts,  some  with  too  long  a  beak, 
and  others  with  too  long  a  tail,  and  yet  others  with 
a  black  mark  round  the  neck. 


*'^ 


66 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 


THE   OUTWITTING   OF   THE   GEDEMBAI. 

''  I  '*HERE  was  formerly  a  race  of  gigantic  spirits 
■*-  named  Gedembai  who  could  turn  people  whom 
they  addressed  by  name  into  wood  or  stone.)  Many 
years  ago  they  were  very  numerous  and  were  a  great 
danger  to  the  forest-dwelling  Malays.  In  many 
places  there  are  still  to  be  seen  the  clearest  traces  of 
their  former  presence  and  power.  Near  the  head- 
waters of  the  Tembeling  close  to  the  left  bank  of 
the  river  stands  a  rock  on  which  are  still  shown 
the  claw-marks  of  a  tiger,  which  escaped  from  the 
Gedembai  by  leaping  the  river  (where  it  was 
ten  fathoms  across),  when  a  wild  boar  which  it 
was    pursuing  was    turned    into    stone.     There    to 

67 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

this  day  you  may  see  the  Petrified  Boar,  and  the 
place  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Tiger's  Leap. 
Further  down  the  river  stands  a  high  and  soHtary 
crag,  the  summit  of  which  is  the  shelter  where 
the  Gedembai  used  to  dry  by  day  the  fish  they 
had  caught  during  the  previous  night.  There  too 
you  may  see  the  big  river-pool  into  which  they 
threw  their  casting  net,  and  the  rocks  which  they 
dropped  into  the  river  (in  place  of  the  stones  thrown 
in  to  attract  the  fish  before  the  cast  is  made  with 
the  net). 

Such  was  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  Gedembai 
that  the  older  inhabitants  at  length  conspired 
together  to  frighten  them  out  of  the  land.  For 
the  Gedembai  were  incredible  fools,  and  could  be 
cheated  with  great  facility.  And  as  they  only  went 
abroad  at  night,  the  Malays  used  certain  stratagems 
to  frighten  the  Gedembai  out  of  the  country. 

Pulling  down  the  long  weeping  sprays  of  bamboo 
that  overhung  the  streams,  they  cut  them  off  short, 
and  then  let  them  spring  back  again  to  an  upright 
position,  so  that  the  Gedembai  might  think  that 
only  giants  could  have  reached  up  to  cut  them. 
68 


from  an  Eastern  Forest 

Next  they  put  an  old  man  upwards  of  sixty  years 
of  age  in  a  child's  swinging  cot,  so  that  the  Ged6mbai 
seeing  his  toothless  gums  supposed  him  to  be  a  new- 
born infant.  And  when  the  Gedembai  had  thus 
been  thoroughly  cheated,  they  were  easily  made  to 
believe  that  the  harrows  lying  beside  the  rice-fields 
were  Malay  hair-combs,  and  that  the  very  tortoises 
were  insects  that  infested  their  persons ;  but  that 
nevertheless  they  could  make  themselves  small 
enough  to  creep  inside  the  sheath  of  a  dagger  in 
order  to  hollow  it  out. 

At  length  therefore  the  Ged^mbai  lost  heart,  and 
fled  to  the  Country  at  the  Foot  of  the  Sky,  but  as  they 
fled  they  called  upon  everybody  they  met  to  follow 
after  them,  turning  all  who  refused  to  obey  them 
into  trees.  Hence  you  will  see  in  Malayan  forests 
many  lofty  trees  leaning  over  rivers.  These  were 
once  men  and  women  who  refused  to  follow  the 
Gedembai  in  their  flight,  and  were  so  severely 
kicked  by  them  in  consequence,  that  they  have 
never  since  been  able  to  stand  upright.  Here 
and  there  you  will  see  trees  whose  silvery  outer 
bark  peels  ofF  in  strips.  These  too,  which  are  now 
69 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

Pahlawan  trees,  were  once  human  beings,  but  were 
transformed  into  trees  for  refusing  to  follow  the 
Ged^mbai,  who  caused  their  bark  to  fall  off  in 
patches  by  stroking  the  skin  of  their  own  breasts. 


J?5> 


70 


from  an  Eastern   Forest 


THE    FATE   OF   THE   SILVER   PRINCE 
AND    PRINCESS    LEMON-GRASS. 


/^NCE  upon  a  time  there  was  a  beautiful  king's 
^-^  daughter  called  Princess  *  Lemon-grass '^  who 
was  betrothed  to  another  Icing's  son  called  the 
'Silver'  Prince^.  In  due  course  of  time  a  lucky 
day  for  the  wedding  was  fixed,  and  on  its 
arrival  the  Bridegroom's  party  went  forth  in  pro- 
cession to  escort  him  to  the  house  of  the  Bride, 
with  the  noise  of  gongs  and  drums,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  country.  But  at  the  very  last 
hour,  even  while  the  Bridegroom's  procession 
was  approaching,  the  Bride  changed  her  mind,  and 
threatened  to  resist  the  Bridegroom  by  force.  At 
this  juncture  however,  one  Tegah  made  peace 
between   them,  standing  like  a  wall  between   the 

^  Serei. 
2  Perak. 

71 


Fables  and  Folk  Tales 

pair  and  forbidding  the  conflict.  Yet  even  as  they 
stood,  they  were  all  summoned  by  the  Gedembai, 
and  as  they  did  not  obey  the  summons,  they  were 
forthwith  changed  into  Hills.  And  the  name  of 
the  Hill  into  which  the  Princess  was  changed  was 
'  Lemon-grass  Crag^ '  (or  '  Kedah  Peak  '),  and  that 
of  the  Prince  was  'Silver  Mountain 2,'  and  that  of 
the  peace-maker  was  'Sheer  Hill^'  And  so  to  this 
day  '  Sheer  Hill '  stands  like  a  wall  between  the 
conflicting  parties. 

^  Gunong  Jerai. 
2  Bukit  Perak. 
^  Bukit  Tegah. 


J^^ 


72 


NOTES. 


p.  1  I.     Father  Lime-stick  and  the  Flower-pecker. 

This  tale,  which  appears  in  England  as  early  as  the  Gesta 
Romanorum  (ch.  167),  was  told  me  by  a  Kelantan  Malay  named 
Che  Busu,  one  of  the  following  of  the  Raja  Muda  of  Patani. 
The  liming  of  birds  as  practised  by  the  Malays  is  effected  by 
cutting  deep  notches  in  the  boughs  of  any  tree  in  which  birds 
have  been  observed  to  habitually  settle,  the  operator  inserting  in 
each  notch  a  short  stick  thickly  coated  with  viscid  sap  obtained 
from  certain  trees  in  the  jungle.  When  the  birds  have  been 
caught  these  lime-sticks  can  be  removed  and  used  afresh  in  a 
different  locality,  this  being  much  less  trouble  than  it  would  be 
to  lime  the  twigs  of  the  tree  itself. 

Some  of  these  lime-sticks  in  the  Cambridge  Museum  are 
about  2  ft.  in  length,  and  of  rather  less  than  the  thickness  of 
the  little  finger. 

The  Malay  name  of  the  old  man  in  the  present  instance  is 
'  To'  Sa-getah,'  the  Malay  name  of  the  bird  being  '  Sepah  putri ' 
or  the  '  Princess's  betel-quid,'  a  name  which  is  derived  from 
another  legend.  "  The  Owl  fell  in  love  with  the  Moon-Princess 
and  asked  her  to  marry  him.  This  she  promised  to  do,  if  he 
would  allow  her  to  finish  her  quid  of  betel  undisturbed,  but 
before  finishing  it  she  threw  it  down  to  the  earth,  where  it  took 
the   form   of  the   small  bird  in  question.     The   Princess  then 

s.  73  10 


Notes 

requested  the  Owl  to  make  search  for  it,  but  as,  of  course,  he 
was  unable  to  find  it,  the  proposed  match  fell  through.  This  is 
the  reason  why  the  owl,  to  quote  the  Malay  proverb,  '  sighs 
longingly  to  the  moon,'  and  is  the  type  of  the  desponding  lover." 
Malay  Magic,  102. 

1  12.  A  Bezoar-stone  as  big  as  a  coconut.  These 
Bezoar-stones  are  concretions  obtained  from  the  bodies  of 
various  animals,  especially  the  porcupine  and  the  monkey. 
Extraordinary  magical  virtues  are  ascribed  to  them.  They  are 
usually  about  the  size  of  a  small  filbert  (more  or  less),  and  their 
value,  all  else  being  equal,  would  be  in  proportion  to  their  size. 
In  the  Gesta  Romanorum  (above  referred  to),  it  is  a  "  Pearl 
bigger  than  the  egg  of  an  ostrich." 

1  13.  worth  at  least  a  thousand:  i.e.  a  thousand  dollars, 
the  dollar  being  about  two  shillings. 

P.  3  I.    The  King  of  the  Tigers  is  sick. 

This  story  was  also  one  of  Che  Busu's. 

3  18.  because  of  a  dream  of  certain  medicine.  It  is  hardly 
necessary  to  remind  the  reader  of  the  extraordinary  importance 
assigned  to  dreams  by  all  uncivilised  races. 

P.  5  I .    The  Mouse-deer's  shipwreck. 

This  again  was  one  of  the  tales  told  me  by  Che  Busu. 

5  5.  Of  the  bird  which  I  have  translated  Heron  all  I  could 
ascertain  was  that  it  was  a  species  of  Heron  distinguished  by  the 
roundness  of  its  tail-parts.  The  Malays  call  it  burong  kuntul 
[in  Patani  and  Kelantan  'kutu']. 

5  6.  the  wind  blew  from  the  North.  This  would  of 
course  be  a  most  favourable  wind  for  anyone  who  wanted  to  sail 
to  Java  from  any  part  of  the  Malay  Peninsula. 

6  I.  I'm  such  a  bad  hand  at  swimming.  The  thin  legs 
and  deeply  cloven  hoofs  of  the  Mouse-deer  would  be  sufficient  in 
themselves  to  account  for  this. 

8  7.  climbed  up  with  it  to  the  top  of  a  She-oak  tree. 
The  She-oak  is  the  name  given  (I  believe)  in  Australia  to 
Casuarina   litorea    or    the    'long-shore'    casuarina-tree.      The 

74 


Notes 

name  of  she-oak  was  given  to  this  tree  on  account  of  the  wood 
which  was  thought  to  resemble  oal<  in  appearance  though  it  was 
really  hardly  tit  even  for  fire-wood.  It  has  needle-like  leaves, 
and  hence  from  a  distance  looks  very  like  fir  or  larch.  It  is  to 
be  found  as  a  rule  in  the  Malay  Peninsula  wherever  there  is  a 
sandy  sea-board.  The  Malays  call  it  'Ru  (short  for  Aru  or  £ru) 
which  name  they  also  apply  to  a  kind  of  fir  which  grows  in  the 
mountains. 

F.  9  I .    WIio  killed  the  Otter's  Babies  ? 

This  is  another  of  Che  Busu's  Tales,  but  when  he  told  it  me 
there  was  a  missing  link,  that  of  the  king-crab,  which  he  could 
not  recollect.  As,  however,  I  heard  the  story  re-told  and  the  link 
supplied  in  Kedah,  I  take  the  opportunity  of  making  good  the 
omission.  The  Malay  word  '  anak  '  may  mean  either  '  child '  or 
children,  according  to  the  context,  but  as  in  this  context  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  whether  the  singular  or  the  plural  is  intended, 
I  have  thought  it  best,  the  Otter  being  a  fairly  prolific  animal, 
to  keep  to  the  plural.  In  either  case,  however,  it  does  not  affect 
the  point  of  the  tale. 

The  otter  is,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  much  the  same  as  the 
common  otter  {Liitra  vulgaris). 

The  tale  is  of  a  kind  which  may  perhaps  best  be  called 
an  all-round-the-clock  or  more  simply  a  '  clock '  story,  as  it 
ingeniously  sets  forth  the  chain  of  incidents,  by  which  the  re- 
sponsibility for  the  death  of  its  own  children  was  brought  home 
to  the  Otter  itself,  thanks  to  the  wisdom  of  king  Solomon,  who 
here  figures,  as  in  so  many  other  Eastern  fables,  as  a  judge  of 
extraordinary  discretion. 

P.  11  4.  the  Woodpecker... sounded  the  war-gong  :  this  of 
course  is  an  allusion  to  the  tapping  of  the  woodpecker's  liill  upon 
the  bark  of  tree-trunks  in  its  search  for  insects. 

11  15.  the  Great  Lizard  wearing  his  sword.  The  Great 
Lizard  is  the  "  Iguana,"  as  it  is  often  called  (more  correctly,  the 
Monitor  Lizard  of  the  Far  East).  It  grows  to  an  immense  size, 
even  reaching  a  length  of  more  than  six  feet.     From  three  to 

75 


Notes 

five  feet  however  is  the  common  size.  The  Great  Lizard's  sword 
is  of  course  the  long  and  tapering  tail  which  he  trails  behind 
him. 

P.  1 2  2.  the  Tortoise  had  donned  his  coat  of  mail.  This 
refers  clearly  enough  to  the  mail-like  shell  by  which  the  tortoise 
is  protected.  The  expression  here  used  is  a  favourite  paraphrase 
V  such  as  with  the  Malays  often  takes  the  form  of  a  riddle.  "An 
old  hunchback  wearing  a  coat  of  mail  armour;  What  is  it?"  the 
answer  being  of  course  "A  tortoise":  most  of  the  paraphrases 
referred  to  in  this  tale  are  also  I  believe  known  to  the  Malays  in 
the  form  of  riddles. 

12  6.  the  King-crab  trailing  his  three-edged  pike.  The 
king-crab  is  a  Kniuhis.  The  pike  here  referred  to  is  a  bayonet- 
shaped  spike  which  (lik^  our  own  "  Morning  Star")  was  specially 
used  in  former  times  by  the  Malays  for  piercing  chain-armour. 
Hence  it  is  here  employed  as  usually,  in  conjunction  with  the 
armour.  The  allusion  in  this  instance  is  to  the  curious  spike  at 
the  end  of  the  king-crab's  tail. 

12  lo.  the  Crayfish  had  shouldered  his  lance.  The 
Malay  word  may  either  signify  crayfish,  in  which  case  it 
belongs  to  the  family  of  the  Astacidse,  the  '  lance '  being  an 
allusion  to  the  crayfish's  long  feelers  or  antennoe  when  turned 
backwards  over  its  shoulder ;  or  else  it  may  mean  prawn,  in 
which  case  it  probably  refers  to  the  fretted  spike  or  saw  on  the 
prawn's  head.  The  word  used  for  lance  in  the  Malay  refers  to 
the  fringed  or  tasselled  lance  which  is  used  in  many  parts  of  the 
Far  East  as  one  of  the  insignia  of  royalty,  and  which  is  decorated, 
in  various  localities,  with  yak  or  cow-tails,  with  horse-hair  &c.  «&c. 

P.  13  I.     A  Vegetarian  Dispute. 

This  story  was  taken  down  on  the  banks  of  the  Upper 
Tembeling  River,  in  the  interior  of  Pahang.  As  the  object 
of  the  last  tale  was  to  explain  in  a  playful  (semi-serious,  semi- 
comic)  vein  the  origin  of  the  most  striking  characteristics  of 
certain  animals,  so  the  present  story  attempts  to  account  for  the 
chief  characteristics  of  certain  objects  in  the  vegetable  world. 

76 


Notes 

Unfortunately  I  have  not,  in  two  or  three  cases,  been  able  to 
identify  the  plant,  though  the  general  tenour  of  the  story  is 
perfectly  clear.  The  identifications  which  follow  are  taken  from 
a  list  of  Malay  plants  by  H.  N.  Ridley  in/.  A'.  A.  S.,S.B. 
[No.  30],  July,   1897. 

13  2.  Jdgong  is  the  Malay  name  for  Indian  Corn  or 
Maize,  which  is  largely  grown  as  a  'catch '-crop  in  the  Malay 
Peninsula. 

135.     D9,giui  is  a  Gudutn,  probably  edide. 

Gadong  is  Dioscorea  diemonutn  Roxb.  (Dioscoreaceoe).  It 
is  a  climber  with  large  tubers,  which  are  used  in  the  manufacture 
V  of  dart-poison,  and  also  eaten  after  repeated  washings  to  extract 
the  narcotic  properties  which  they  contain. 

13  II.  Edchang  may  here  be  any  kind  of  cultivated  bean, 
such  as  is  grown  (in  company  with  maize)  as  a  '  catch  '-crop. 

1314.  Libut,  the  tree  so  called  in  Pahang  (also  Belibok  in 
Ulu  Kelantan),  is  almost  certainly  the  "Kelebok"  tree  of  the 
W.  coast  (Selangor  &c.).  It  is  a  species  of  Ficus  (PA  Rox- 
burghii,  Wall.,  Urticaceae),  a  large  ficus,  "with  clusters  of  big 
figs  on  the  stem."  It  is  a  light  wood,  used  by  the  wild  tribes 
for  making  the  butts  of  their  blow-gun  darts. 

P.  14  6.  The  Liane  referred  to  is  a  kind  of  creeper  called 
Wilang  (unidentified). 

14  14.  The  "Ox-eye  tree"  (mata  lembu)  is  also  un- 
mentioned  in  the  Dictionaries. 

14  17.  The  Perachak  (also  Perachek  and  Pfrachet)  is 
Tabernamontana  Malaccensis,  Hook.  fil.  (Apocynaceoe). 

14  21.  "And'ram"  is  also  unmentioned,  but  may  pro- 
bably be  taken  as  a  dialectal  variation  of  menderong,  a  common 
kind  of  sedge  used  in  mat-making.  [Scirpus  grossus,  Vahl. 
Cyperaceae.) 

F.  16  I.  The  Friendship  of  Ttipai  the  Squirrel  and  BHan 
the  Creeping  Fish. 

This  tale  was  told  me  as  a  proverbial  example  of  devoted 
friendship,  by  one  of  the  local  Malays  at  a  village  on  the  banks 

77 


Notes 

of  the  Siong  River,  a  long  way  up-country  in  the  State  of 
Kedah. 

The  Squirrel  is  the  common  striped  squirrel  of  the  Malay 
Peninsula,  and  the  Fish  is  an  'ophiocephalus,'  a  kind  of 
V  swamp-fish  that  is  able  both  to  walk  and  climb  by  opening 
and  shutting  its  gill-cases.  I  have  here  called  it  the  creeping 
fish  to  distinguish  it  from  the  walking  mud- fish  of  Africa,  the 
point  of  the  story  in  the  present  case  being  moreover  its  ability 
to  creep  out  of  the  tube;  but  it  is  best  known  locally  for  its 
walking  powers,  of  which  I  have  myself  been  a  witness. 

16  12.  a  bamboo  water -tube.  These  water-tubes  are 
the  so-called  joints  (or  inter-nodes)  of  a  big  species  of  bamboo 
with  long  inter-nodes.  They  are  often  as  much  as  5  ft.  to  6  ft. 
in  length  (by  4  or  5  inches  in  diameter) ;  and  when  I  was  at  Siong 
(where  this  story  was  collected),  I  used  regularly  to  see  (in  the 
early  morning)  the  women  of  the  hamlet  carrying  them  down  to 
the  water  and  refilling  them  there.  They  are  used  by  jungle 
Malays,  I  believe,  throughout  the  Peninsula. 

16  18.  Nesting-places  for  the  hens  are  often  made  at  the  top 
of  similar  bamboos,  the  upper  end  of  the  tube  being  split  in  many 
places  all  round  and  opened  out  in  the  form  of  a  basket,  which 
is  lined  and  filled  with  a  little  earth,  forming  a  species  of  nest 
for  the  hen  to  roost  in.  Like  the  water-bamboos  they  are 
usually  kept  close  to  the  house. 

P.  18  I.     The  Pelican's  punishment. 

This  is  a  Malay  version  of  one  of  the  best-known  of  ^^sop's 
Fables.  It  was  collected  on  the  Tembeling  river  in  Ulu 
Pahang. 

P.  20  I.    The  Tiger  gets  his  deserts. 

As  my  friend  Mr  R.  J.  Wilkinson  points  out,  this  tale  occurs 
in  the  Hikayat  Gul  Bakhtiyar.  It  was  collected  in  Ulu  Kedah 
(Siong). 

P.  22  I.    The  Tiger's  mistake. 

This  is  one  of  the  Tembeling  Stories,  and  was  told  me  as 
having  happened  on  the  very  spot  (upon  the  banks  of  the  Lebih 

78 


Notes 

River)  on  which  I  was  one  night  encamped.  The  spot  was  a 
small  point  of  land  jutting  out  into  the  stream  of  the  Lebih 
which  swirled  angrily  past,  chafing  at  the  steep  bank  which  here 
disputed  its  passage.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  dense  wall  of 
jungle  and  it  appeared  just  the  place  to  expect  a  tiger,  although 
it  may  be  open  to  question  whether  crocodiles  are  ever  met  so 
far  up-stream  and  above  so  many  rapids. 

P.  24  I .    The  Tune  that  makes  the  Tiger  drowsy. 

This  Tune  which  the  Malays  call  '''' Lagu  ritnaii  niengantok" 
may  perhaps  only  exist  in  the  popular  imagination,  like  our  own 
"tune  the  cow  died  of."  The  phrase  appears  to  be  pretty 
generally  known  in  the  East  Coast  States,  though  I  had 
not  heard  it  in  the  States  of  the  Western  Sea-board.  The 
'kerotong'  is  a  'joint'  of  bamboo,  longitudinal  strips  of  the 
skin  of  which  are  raised  with  a  knife,  and  tightened  by  means 
of  wedges  (or  'bridges')  inserted  (under  the  strips)  at  both  ends, 
so  that  the  strips  form  the  instrument's  strings.  The  strings 
may  be  two  or  more  in  number,  and  are  twanged  with  the 
fingers. 

P.  26  I.     The  Tigers' Fold. 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  the  district  of  Ulu  Setiu, 
in  the  East-Coast  Malay  State  of  Trengganu.  The  story  of  the 
Tigers'  Fold  is  a  favourite  subject  with  Malay  story-tellers,  the 
Fold  being  usually  described  as  situated  upon  any  neighbouring 
hill  or  mountain  of  considerable  height,  e.g.  Gunong  Ledang 
or  Mount  Ophir,  a  well-known  mountain  in  the  interior  of 
Malacca  territory  (about  4000  ft.). 

P.  28  I.    The  Tiger  and  the  Shadow. 

This  tale  is  from  Ulu  Kedah.  It  is  an  interesting  Malay 
version  of  our  own  "Dog  and  the  Shadow." 

28  a.  The  'salt-licks'  of  the  Malay  Peninsula  (called  Sira 
in  Kedah  and  Jenut  in  Ulu  Fahang)  are  famous  places  for  big 
game.  They  are  places  where  the  ground  is  thickly  saturated 
with  natural  salts  derived  usually  from  the  •  overflowing  of  hot 
mineral  springs  in  the  vicinity. 

79 


Notes 

28  12.  Kuwls  is  the  smallest  of  the  Malay  flying  squirrels, 
and  is  not  much  larger  than  our  own  common  bat. 

P.  30  I.     Wit  wins  the  day. 

This  story  is  new  to  me  ;  it  was  told  me  by  a  Kelantan 
Malay. 

F.  31  23.  he  kept  trying  to  clamber  on  to  the  raft.  In 
the  upper  reaches  of  rivers  in  many  of  the  East-Coast  (Malay) 
States  it  is  the  custom  to  keep  bamboo  rafts  moored  under  the 
steep  banks,  instead  of  the  fallen  tree-trunks  which  more 
commonly  form  the  landing-stages  of  the  West-Coast  Malays. 

P.  33  I.    The  King- crow  and  the  Water-snail. 

This  story  is  an  old  friend  in  a  new  dress.  It  was  told  me 
on  the  Tembeling  River  by  a  Malay  of  Pahang.  The  King-crow 
(also  called  the  Racquet-tailed  Drongo)  is  the  "  Chenchawi "  of 
the  Malays,  and  the  Water-snail  is  "Siput." 

P.  34  9.     Birah  is  a  name  given  to  various  wild  aroids. 

K6mahang  seems  to  be  a  Dioscorea. 

34  21.  It  is  a  common  Malay  belief  that  many  species  of 
shell- fish  {e.g.  when  the  tide  is  coming  up)  make  audible  sounds, 
which  the  Malays  usually  describe  as  '  whistling. '  A  similar 
superstition  appears  to  have  once  been  current  in  England, 
witness  the  portrayal  of  "  The  Whistling  Oyster  "  on  the  sign- 
boards of  old  inns. 

P.  38  I .     The  Elephant  Princess. 

This  tale,  which  I  picked  up  in  Patani,  is  obscure  in  parts, 
but  shows  distinct  traces  of  Siamese  influence  {e.g.  in  the 
mention  of  the  Siamese  (Buddhist)  Monastery).  There  are  many 
of  these  monasteries  in  the  State  of  Patani,  inhabited  by  the 
yellow-robed  priests  of  Buddha. 

38  2.  The  '  Prophet '  Adam  and  the  '  Lady  Eve '  (Baba 
Hawa)  are  the  usual  titles  assigned  by  the  Malays  to  the 
traditional  ancestors  of  mankind.  For  a  parallel  story,  see 
Malay  Magic,  p.   151  seqq. 

38  7.  making  a  bridge  of  a  soap-vine  stem.  This  refers 
to  the  Malay  soap-vine  called  Beluru  ;  [the  only  one  given  in 

80 


Notes 

Ridley's  List  being  Entada  scandens  L.  (Leguminosae)],  short 
pieces  of  whose  stem  are  broken  up  and  mixed  with  water,  which 
is  then  worked  up  into  a  lather  and  used  for  washing  purposes 
by  Jungle-dwelling  Malays,  in  place  of  soap.  It  is  a  fairly  big 
and  strong  creeper. 

P.  39  12.  scooped  out  the  contents  of  a  giant  gourd. 
This  recalls  the  state  carriage  (in  our  own  story  of  Cinderella) 
which  was  improvised  out  of  a  pumpkin. 

39  19.  his  iron  pike  -  bead ;  this  is  a  pike  called  "sa" 
(sau),  such  as  is  carried  by  elephant-drivers. 

P.  41    I.    The  Elephant's  bet. 

This  story  was  told  me  by  Che  Busu,  the  Kelantan  Malay 
already  referred  to. 

P.  45  5.  went  to  look  for  it  at  the  house  of  a  maker 
of  palm-wine.  Palm-wine  or  toddy  is  made  by  tapping  the 
big  fleshy  flower-shoot  (axis)  of  the  coconut-palm ;  the  sap 
is  run  off  into  short  bamboo  vessels  and  allowed  to  ferment 
(when  required  for  drinking  purposes)  or  boiled  down  to  make 
a  kind  of  molasses  or  palm-sugar  as  required. 

P.  49  I.    Princess  Sadong  of  the  Caves. 

This  story  (from  Kedah)  seems  to  be  widely  known  in  the 
Malay  Peninsula,  in  most  places  at  all  events  where  there  are 
lime-stone  hills  and  hill-goats  (Kambing  gurun),  the  name  of 
Princess  Sadong  being  commonly  invoked  by  way  of  diverting 
the  hill-goats  from  the  crops.  It  also  turns  up  in  the  Islands  (of 
the  Malay  Archipelago)  as  the  Story  of  the  Princess  who  refused 
all  her  Suitors.  The  Country  of  What-you-will  is  called  in  Malay 
"  Alang-ka-suka,"  or  "  Alang-'kau-suka." 

P.  SO  18.  the  Prince  who  was  born  in  the  Foam.  In 
"The  Story  of  Patani"it  is  the  Princess  who  is  rescued  from 
the  Foam  and  the  Prince  who  is  discovered  in  the  stem  of  the 
Big  Bamboo.  Such  local  variations  are  very  common,  each 
district  having  its  own  way  of  telling  what  it  regards  as 
its  own  story.  See  however  the  notes  to  the  "Story  of 
Patani." 


S.  81 


II 


Notes 

F.  52  I.  The  Saint  that  was  shot  out  of  his  own 
cannon. 

This  curious  legend  was  told  me  by  Mula  Awang,  of  Patani. 

52  17.  Gr^sik,  now  a  mere  hamlet  some  three  or  four 
miles  from  Patani  town,  was  once  the  seat  of  royalty  here,  but 
has  evidently  been  many  years  abandoned.  I  was  shown  the 
spot  upon  which  the  cannon  (out  of  which  Che  Long  was  fired) 
is  said  to  have  stood,  my  Malay  companion  drawing  my  attention 
to  the  fact  that  it  was  bare  of  grass,  since  none  would  grow  there 
after  the  event  here  described. 

52  18.  Kudla  Bdrat  or  the  Western  River-mouth  is  an  old 
mouth  of  the  Patani  river  (now  silted  up). 

P.  53  4.  The  Luck  of  Patani  (Mai.,  Sri  Patani).  I  believe 
a  small  cannon  bearing  this  name  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Museum 
at  Bangkok. 

P.  54  I.  The  story  of  the  Saints  whose  Grave-stones 
moved. 

This  stoiy  was  from  the  same  source  as  the  last.  Father 
Lanky's  real  name  was,  I  was  told,  Seh  (  =  Sheikh?)  Rombok. 

P.  55  3.  Jambu  is  the  chief  town  of  the  Jering  District ; 
it  lies  a  few  miles  S.  E.  from  Patani  Town. 

P.  56.  I  myself  paid  a  visit  to  the  tombs  of  the  two  saints 
and  was  requested  to  try  my  fortune,  all  the  neighbouring 
villagers  turning  out  to  watch  the  proceedings.  The  two  graves, 
which  were  protected  by  a  low  wall  and  a  roof,  had  been  made, 
I  found,  in  the  sand,  and  were  covered  by  long  low  mounds  of 
sand  from  head  to  foot.  This  circumstance,  combined  with  the 
fact  that  the  measuring  instrument  was  a  short  stick  (supposed 
to  be  a  cubit  long,  corresponding  exactly  to  the  length  of  the 
operator's  arm  as  measured  from  elbow  to  middle  finger  tip), 
made  the  task  a  harder  one  than  might  have  been  expected. 
Each  time  a  cubit  was  measured,  a  furrow  was  made  in  the  sand 
to  mark  the  place,  and  the  loose  sand  falling  in  on  both  sides  of 
the  furrow,  it  was  by  no  means  easy  to  be  sure  of  the  exact  centre 
of  the  furrow  when  the  next  cubit  came  to  be  measured.    Fortu- 

82 


Notes 

nately  however,  in  my  own  case,  the  error  came  out  on  the  right 
side,  as  the  second  measurement  came  to  a  little  more  than  the 
first ;  a  result  on  which  I  was  warmly  congratulated  by  my 
Malay  friends. 

P.  67  I.    NakhSda  Rdgam. 

There  are  many  versions  of  this  story  in  various  parts  of 
the  Peninsula,  this  particular  one  being  told  me  in  Patani. 
Nakhoda  is  a  Persian  word  (meaning  Ship-master)  which  has 
been  borrowed  by  the  Malays.  "Nakhoda  Ragam,"  it  appears, 
was  the  familiar  name  of  one  "Sultan  Bulkeiah"  of  Borneo, 
described  in  Bomean  traditions  as  a  great  warrior  and  a  great 
navigator,  he  having  voyaged  to  Java  and  Malacca,  and  con- 
quered the  East  Coast  of  Borneo,  Luzon  and  Suluk.  His  wife, 
called  Lela  Men  Chanei,  was  a  daughter  of  the  Batara  of  Suluk. 
— Hugh  Low  on  the  Selesilah  of  the  Rajas  of  Brunei, ^/.j*?.^.  S., 
S.B.  no.  5,  p.  7  (notes). 

57  5.  Jgring  is  the  name  of  the  District  of  which  Jambu 
(v.  supra)  is  the  chief  town. 

P.  58  4.  Banggor  is  a  name  given  to  any  knoll  of  rising 
ground  or  low  eminence  near  a  river,  and  in  this  case  it  probably 
refers  to  the  site  of  Jambu  village. 

P.  59   I.     The  Legend  of  Patani. 

This  story,  which  is  a  well-known  Malay  legend,  and  which 
purports  to  describe  the  first  beginnings  of  the  State  of  Patani, 
was  told  me  by  a  Malay  in  Patani  Town. 

59  4.  Nang  Chayang  is  the  name  of  an  early  queen  of 
Patani. 

59  12.  For  this  Foam  Princess,  cp.  Malay  Annals  (trans, 
by  Leyden,  London  1821)  p.  29:  "It  happened  on  a  certain  day 
"that  the  river  of  Palembang  brought  down  a  foam-bell  of 
"uncommon  size,  in  which  appeared  a  young  girl  of  extreme 
"beauty.  The  Raja  being  informed  of  this  circumstance,  ordered 
"her  to  be  brought  to  him.  This  was  done,  and  the  Raja  adopted 
"her  as  his  daughter.  She  was  named  Putri  Tunjong-bui,  or  the 
"Princess  Foam-bell."     Palembang  is  in  Sumatra. 

83 


j< 


/" 


Notes 

p.  61  4.  he  found  a  male  infant.  In  many  versions  the 
two  children — the  Bamboo  Prince  and  the  Foam  Princess — are 
made  to  marry  when  they  grow  up. 

61  12.  The  Rajas  of  Raman  who  may  not  eat  the  young 
bamhoo  shoots.  From  this  it  may  perhaps  be  inferred  that  the 
Bamboo  was  their  totem.  The  traces  of  genuine  totemism  among 
the  Peninsular  Malays  are  however  of  the  rarest  description. 

F.  66  4.  a  lather  of  powdered  rice.  The  Malay  method 
of  (ceremonial)  bathing  is  to  cover  the  person  with  a  lather 
made  of  finely  powdered  rice  mixed  with  various  other  sub- 
stances, and  to  wash  it  off  again  with  the  juice  of  limes. 

P.  67  I.     The  Outwitting  of  the  Ggd^mbai. 

This  class  of  spirits  is  usually  called  KUembai,  but  as  this 
tale  is  from  Ulu  Pahang  (Tembeling  River)  I  have  retained  the 
local  form  of  the  name.  I  quote  in  conclusion  an  interesting 
note  from  ihtJ.R.A.S.  by  the  late  Sir  William  Maxwell,  which 
runs  as  follows: — 

"sperti  bujuk  Igpas  deri  bubu. 

"Like  a  'bujuk'  fish  escaped  from  the  trap. 

"Bujuk  is  a  fresh-water  fish  found  in  muddy  places.  Bubu 
"is  a  fish-trap  made  of  split  bamboo  tied  with  rattan.  It  has  a 
"circular  opening  which  narrows  as  the  end  of  the  passage  is 
"reached  and  is  constructed  on  the  same  principle  as  the  eel-pot 
"or  lobster-pot.  One  of  the  highest  mountains  in  Perak  is  called 
"Bubu.  It  is  supposed  to  be  the  fish-trap  of  the  mythological 
"personage  named  Sang  Kalembai,  and  the  rocks  in  the  bed  of 
"the  Perak  river  at  Pachat  are  pointed  out  as  his  Sawar  (stakes 
"which  are  put  down  to  obstruct  a  stream  and  thus  to  force 
"the  fish  to  take  the  opening  which  leads  to  the  trap)." 

[Maxwell  m  J.R.  A.  S.,   S.  B.  no.  i,  p.   145.] 

P.  68  9.  This  is  a  common  Malay  practice  for  netting  fresh- 
water fish.     The  stones  thrown  in  are  called  "  Batu  Tungkul." 

P.  70  I.  Tahl&wsai.  =  Trisiama  ivhitiana,  a  striking 
tree  in  Malayan  forests.     Its  bark  peels  off  in  strips. 

P.  71  4.     Princess  Lemon-grass.    By  a  popular  etymology, 

84 


/ 


Notes 

the  Malay  name  of  Kedah  Peak  ("  Giinong  jerai"or  '*'jerai' 
Crag")  is  here  derived  from  the  Malay  word  serei  which  means 
'  lemon -grass '  (citronella).  In  the  "  Hikayat  Marong  Maha- 
wano-sa"  it  is  said  to  be  so  called  "on  account  of  its  height." 
The  name  is  however  undoubtedly  taken  from  the  name  of  the 
Tree  (jerai),  v.  mpra  (p.  36). 

71  6.  the  Silver  Prince.  The  Malay  word  for  silver  is 
"  Perak,"  whence  not  only  the  name  of  this  mountain,  but  also 
those  of  the  Perak  river  and  the  Perak  state,  are  derived. 

P.  72  7.  Sheer  Hill.  This  is  the  meaning  of  the  name 
of  "  Biikit  Tegah,"  a  steep  hill  situated  between  the  Silver 
Mountain  (Bukit  Perak)  and  Kedah  Peak  (Gunong  Jerai).  I 
may  add  that  the  difference  in  use  of  the  terms  "Gunong"  and 
"  Bukit"  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  question  of  height 
(as  in  the  case  of  the  words  'hill'  and  'mountain'  in  English). 
The  former  (gunong)  means  a  more  or  less  bare  and  precipitous 
peak  or  crag,  whilst  the  latter  (bukit)  is  used  of  all  forest-covered 
hills  or  mountains. 


Note  on  Pronunciation. 

The  spelling  followed  is  that  of  Standard  (Peninsular)  Malay, 
romanised  according  to  the  sound  of  the  Italian  vowels.  _/,  Ch, 
and  other  consonants  here  used,  (except  final  A'),  roughly  speaking, 
as  in  English.  Final  K  is  a  strong  guttural  check,  G  always  hard. 
NG  is  a  single  letter,  and  hence  NGG  has  to  be  used  to  express 
the  sound  oi NG  in  Eng.  "  longer,"  "stronger,"  &c. 


85 


X.      MAP    OF    MALAY    PENINSULA. 


INDEX. 


Adam  (called  the  Prophet),  his  quarrel  with  Eve,  38 
And'ram,   14,  v.   Sedge 

Ape,  the  Black  Ape  and  his  quarrel  with  the  Tiger,  46-48 
Aroids,  and  wild  calladiums  (as  the  food  of  water-snails),  34 
Arrow-poison,  used  by  Jagong  to  poison  Gadong,   13 

Bamboo,   the    Bamboo    Prince,  61  ;    reason  why  the   Rajas   of 

Raman  may  not  eat  Bamboo  shoots,  61 
Bangkok,   53 
Bezoar-stone,   1-2 

Calladiums,  v.  Aroids 

Cannibalism,  of  Raja  Siung,   60 

Cat  and  dog  fight,  brings  about  a  deluge,  62 

Cattle,  ceremony  at  a  shrine  for  recovering  lost  or  strayed  cattle, 

53 
Che  Long,  52 
Corpses  (of  Saints)  that  stood  upright  in  the  water,  55  ;    and 

outgrew  their  shrouds,  ib. 
Crab,  kills  the  Pelican  in  self-defence,   19 
Crayfish,  shoulders  his  lance,  12 
Crocodile,  devours  the  Tiger  which  fell  into  the  river,  23 

87 


Index 

Dagun,  the  Liane,   13-15 

Deluge,  a  Malayan  version  of  the  Flood,  62 

E^le,  one  of  King  Solomon's  body-guard,  64;  is  missing,  ib.\  is 

pardoned  by  King  Solomon,  66 
Elephant,  loses  his  wager  with  the  Tiger,  41-48;  tries  to  shake 

down  the  monkey,  ib. ;  his  despair  at  having  to  pay  forfeit, 

43 ;  has  his  life  saved  by  the  Mouse-deer,  45-47 
Elephant- Princess,   38-40 
Elias  (the  Prophet)  refers  a  vegetarian  dispute  to  the  court  of 

King  Solomon,  14 

Fish,  the  Creeping  Fish  (Ruan),  his  friendship  with  the  Squirrel, 
16-17  ;  assists  the  Squirrel  in  a  difficulty,  16  ;  is  assisted  by 
the  Squirrel  in  turn,  17;  is  deceived  by  the  Pelican,  18 

Flood,  V.   Deluge 

Flower-pecker,  Father  Lime-stick  and  the  Flower-pecker,  i 

Foam-Prince,  as  a  suitor  of  Princess  Sadong,  50-51 

Foam  (or  Fairy)  Princess,   59 

Follow-my-nose — Old  Father  Follow-my-nose  and  the  Four 
Priests,  36 

Gadong,  the  wild  Yam,   13-15 

Gedembai,  or  K'lembai,  a  race  of  troublesome  spirits  who  can 
turn  people  and  things  into  stone,  67  ;  their  size  and 
habits,  68 ;  methods  employed  by  the  Malays  to  outwit 
them,  68-69  ;  commit  great  havoc  when  fleeing  to  the 
Foot  of  the  Sky,  69-70 ;  turn  the  Silver  Prince  and  his 
Princess  into  mountains,  72 

Grave-stones  of  Father  Lanky  and  his  pupil,  55 ;  their 
miraculous  movements,  ib.\  divination  by  measuring  the 
space  between  them,  56 

Heron  (the  Stump-tailed)  sails  to  Java  with  the  Mouse-deer,  5 ; 
the  Blue  Heron's  plea  for  the  Eagle  is  commended  by  King 
Solomon,  66 

88 


Index 

Jagong,  V.  Maize 

Jerai,  as  name  of  a  tree,   36;    as  name  of  a  mountain,   72 

Kachang,  the  Bean,   13-15 

Ketam,  v.  Crab 

King-crab,  trails  his  three-edged  pike,  12 

King-crow  and  the  Water-snail,  33 

King  Solomon,  tries  the  Mouse-deer  for  murder  of  the  Otter's 
children,  10;  acquits  the  Mouse-deer,  12;  decides  a 
vegetarian  dispute,  13-15  ;  his  dealings  with  the  Birds,  64- 
66;  marries  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  the  Genii,  66 

Lanky,  story  of  Father  Lanky  and  Sah  Nyaya,  54 
Lime-stick,  story  of  Father  Lime-stick  and  the  Flower-pecker,  i 
Lizard,  the  Great  (or  Monitor)  Lizard,  wears  his  sword,   11 

Maize-plant  (Jagong),  story  of,   13-15 

Man,  his  dispute  with  the  Tiger,  20-21  ;  sleeps  in  the  jungle 
together  with  his  little  boy  and  is  discovered  by  a  Tiger,  22 ; 
their  narrow  escape,  23 

Mata  Lembu,  v.   Ox-eye 

Molasses,  45 

Mouse-deer,  refuses  to  appear  when  summoned  by  the  king  of 
the  Tigers,  3  ;  his  cure  for  the  king  of  the  Tigers,  4;  sails 
to  Java  with  the  Heron,  5  ;  is  shipwrecked,  6  ;  outwits  the 
shark,  7 ;  outwits  the  Tiger,  8 ;  inadvertently  slays  the 
Otter's  babies,  9  ;  is  acquitted  by  King  Solomon  of  wilfully 
murdering  the  Otter's  babies,  12  ;  is  appealed  to  by  the  Man 
in  his  dispute  with  the  Tiger,  21;  his  settlement  of  the 
dispute,  il>.;  outwits  the  Tiger,  29;  sets  the  Wild  Bulls  at 
variance,  30 ;  saves  the  Elephant's  life  when  it  was  forfeit 
to  the  Tiger,  44-47 

Nakhoda  Ragam,  v.  Ragam 

S.  89  12 


Index 

Opium-eater,  buries  the  four  yellow-robed  Priests,  37 
Otter,  its  children  inadvertently  slain  by  the  Mouse-deer,  9 
Ox-eye  tree,  stood  nigh  to  watch  the  battle  and  was  grazed  by 
bullets,  14 

Palm-wine,  45  • 

Patani,  the  Raja  of  Patani  and  Che  Long,  the  Saint  that  was 

shot  out  of  his  own  cannon,  52  ;  cannon  called  the  Luck  of 

Patani,  conveyed  to  Bangkok,  53  ;  the  legend  of  Patani,  59 
Pelican,  the,  deceives  and  devours  the  fish,  18;  is  elain  himself 

by  the  Crab,  19 
Perachak  Shrub,  that  stood  upon  tiptoe,  14 
Perak,  v.  Silver 
P'lando',  V.  Mouse-deer 

Priests,  the  four  Priests  of  the  Yellow  Robe,  36 
Princess  Sadong,  the  Princess  of  the  Lime-stone  caves,  49 ;  how 

she  refused  her  suitors,  50-51 

Ragam,  story  of  ship-master  (Nakhoda)  Ragam,  who  was  pricked 

to  death  by  his  wife's  needle,  5  7 
Raja  Saga,   50 

Raja  Siung,  the  Tusky  Prince,   59 
Rimau,  v.  Tiger 
Riseh,  boughs  of  the  Riseh  and  Tunggal  diiri  (gathered  by  the 

Tiger  at  the  Mouse-deer's  orders),  31 
Road,  is  appealed  to  by  the  Man  in  his  dispute  with  the  Tiger, 

20  ;  the  Road's  reply,  ib. 
Ruan,  V.  Fish 

Sadong,  v.  Princess  Sadong 

Sedge,   how,   being   alarmed,  it  ran  to   a   place   afar   off  and 

plunged  into  the  river,   14 
Shadow,  the  Tiger  and  the  shadow,  28 
Shark,  threatens  to  devour  the  shipwrecked  Mouse-deer,  6 ;  is 

outwitted  by  the  Mouse-deer,  6-7 

90 


Index 

She-oak  tree,  affords  a  refuge  to  the  Mouse-deer,  8 

Shrines,  that  of  Che  Long,  53  ;    that  of  Father  Lanky  (To' 

Panjang)  on  Patani  Point,  55 
Silver  Mountain,  story  of,  72 
Soap-vine  stem,  38 
Solomon,  King,  v.   King  Solomon 
Squirrel,  proverbial  friendship  of  the  Squirrel  and  the  Fish,  16; 

is  assisted  by  the  Fish  when  in  difficulty,   17;   assists  the 

Fish  in  turn,    17 

Tegah,  as  name  of  a  hill,  72 

Thrush,  his  plea  for  the  Eagle,  64 ;  is  commended  by  King 
Solomon,  66 

Tiger,  the  Great  King  of  the  Tigers,  3  ;  the  Crovm-prince  of  the 
Tigers,  ib.;  the  Tiger  threatens  to  devour  the  Mouse-deer,  7; 
is  outwitted  by  the  Mouse-deer,  8 ;  has  a  dispute  with  the 
Man,  20-21  ;  is  again  outwitted  by  the  Mouse-deer,  21 ;  his 
stupid  mistake,  22;  is  devoured  by  the  Crocodile,  23;  the 
Tune  that  made  him  drowsy,  25  ;  the  Tigers'  Fold,  26 ; 
Tigers  that  turn  themselves  into  men,  ib. ;  the  Tigers'  town, 
ib.  (note) ;  house  of  the  Tiger-chief,  27  ;  is  outwitted  by  the 
Mouse-deer,  29;  and  drowned  through  his  own  mistake,  ib.; 
is  made  to  do  the  Mouse-deer's  cooking,  31  ;  and  again 
outwitted  by  the  Mouse-deer,  32;  wins  his  wager  with  the 
Elephant  by  frightening  down  the  Monkey,  42 ;  is  outwitted 
by  the  Mouse-deer,  who  prevents  him  from  devouring  the 
Elephant,  44-47  ;  the  "  Tiger's  Leap  "  (name  of  a  place  on 
the  Tembeling  river  in  Pahang),  67 

Tortoise,  dons  his  coat  of  mail,   12 

Tree,  is  appealed  to  by  the  Man  in  his  dispute  with  the  Tiger, 
20;   the  Tree's  reply,  21 

Tune  that  made  the  Tiger  drowsy,  24 

Tunggal  duri,  v.   Riseh 

Tupai,  V.  Squirrel 


Undan,  v.   Pelican 


91 


Index 


Vegetarian,  a  vegetarian  dispute,   13 


Water-snail  and  the  King-crow,  33 

White  Blood,  as  a  mark  of  purity  of  descent,  50 

Wilang-stem,  used  as  a  spear  by  Jagong,  14 

Wild  Bull,  the  Wild  Bulls  and  the  Mouse-deer,   30 

Woodpecker,  sounds  the  war-gong,  9 ;  his  plea  for  the  Eagle, 

64  ;  excavates  a  hollow  in  a  tree  to  receive  the  daughter  of 

the  King  of  the  Genii,  65 


92 


Cambridge:  printed  by  j.  and  c.  f.  clav,  at  the  university  press. 


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